Women Directors Of Color At The 2025 Venice Film Festival You Should Know

The 82nd Venice Film Festival has arrived and is set to offer a diverse lineup of international cinema. It is the oldest film festival in the world and also known as one of the “Big Five” international film festivals worldwide.

The festival is notorious for launching new films and new filmmakers as well as celebrating more established filmmakers. From Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, stars, directors, and industry professionals will make their way to Venice to indulge in cinematic artistry from creators new and old. Although women directors don’t have the strongest presence at the highly coveted festival, numbers steadily have increased over the last three years.

According to the Golden Globes, for the 81st Venice Film Festival in 2024, women directors accounted for six out of the 21 films in competition that year. This year’s festival will see an expansion of African films by different women directors of color across various categories, which makes it the first year that the festival has had a broad and inclusive African selection. Women of color directors are breaking the mold increasing more and more each year. Although growing by small percentages, they are telling stories with impact. From Olubunmi Ogunsola to Kaouther Ben Hania, here are women directors of color at the 2025 Venice Film Festival that need to be on your radar.

Hailing from Nollywood, Nigeria, Olubunmi Ogunsola has been making waves for her short film “Saint Simeon” which features Nollywood heavyweight Kanayo O. Kanayo.

The film navigates tradition, identity, and generational change in an ever evolving world. The Howard University alum also expertly showcases the clash between tradition and modernity and how the younger generations deal with change. Olubunmi has garnered widespread attention for “Saint Simeon” achieving an impressive feat of having an African film on one of the world’s biggest stages in Venice.

“Saint Simeon” will show alongside other films in the Orizzonti Short Films International Competition. The 18 minute short film also features actors Ego Iheanacho and Victor Ohia Ohioha. This is Ogunsola’s first short film.

Moroccan filmaker Maryam Touzani is all too familiar when it comes to Venice, her films such as Adam and The Blue Caftan have impressed audiences.

This year she’s back with a groundbreaking new film “Calle Malaga.” This is her first Spanish-language film and follows María Ángeles, a 79-year-old Spanish woman living alone who finds herself in a fight to save her childhood home in Morocco as her daughter tries to sell it. Along the way she is reintroduced to love and longing.

The film follows themes of loss, change, and the ties that forever binds us to our roots. The film stars iconic actress Carmen Maura and is set for an international theatric release in March 2026. It will make its way around the festival circuit, also appearing in the Toronto Film Festival. Maryam initially began her career as a film critic before deciding to step behind the camera. Studying journalism in London, Maryam developed a passion for film and decided to combine that passion with her love of writing. She specializes in documentaries as well as short fiction films that are personal to her and her country. In 2019 she was selected as a member of the Academy of Oscars. Some of her previous films include “Much Loved,” “Quand ils dorment,” and “Aya va à la plage.”

Hong Kong-Taiwanese actress Shu Qui is to make her directorial debut with “Girl.” Shu’s film has been shortlisted for the main competition at this year’s festival and makes it the first time in over a decade that a Taiwanese film has been selected for the main competition.

According to Deadline, “Girl” takes place in Taiwan in 1998 and follows a young girl Hsiao-Lee, a quiet and withdrawn girl, growing up in silent gloom. Her encounter with vibrant and carefree Li-li, reawakens long-buried dreams. Lee’s world is upended when her mother’s past resurfaces mirroring her own pain.

The film navigates Lee’s longing for freedom. “Girl” is self directed and self written by Shu and will be a foray into a new world for her. The actress has a 30-year career under her belt starring in major films such as “So Close,” “The Assassin,” and “Three Times.” Upon finding out she was shortlisted for the major film festival, she released a statement via Deadline.

Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania is a cinematic visionary. As the first Arab woman to receive two Oscar nominations, Kaouther seeks to take all the necessary risks to tell a story thats authentic and real. Her films portray a realness despite sometimes exploring painful topics.

Her film for this year’s Venice Film Festival “The Voice of Hind Rijab,” depicts the final moments of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who begs for help while trapped under Israeli fire in Gaza. The film details the heartbreaking reality of children who are caught in the crossfire of high conflict zones. Kaouther always pushes the boundaries and has a natural curiosity.

“As a screenwriter and director, I am driven by a great curiosity and an intense desire to learn. I see each of my films as an opportunity to explore terrain that is both familiar and unknown to me,” said the director.

The director studied cinema at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and La Fémis Film School and has since achieved international success. Her 2020 film “The Man Who Sold His Skin” won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival.