Isola Edipo: Cinema, Photography, Encounters, and Music at the Lido During the Film Festival
Isola Edipo is an independent cultural festival that brings life to the Lido during the Venice Film Festival. For ten years it has built a program of cinema, art, music, education, encounters, and projects dedicated to the city at Riva di Corinto, the boat Edipo Re, and Sala Laguna.
Another Way to Experience Cinema at the Lido
The tenth edition, Una risata vi seppellirà (A Laugh Will Bury You), runs until September 12, 2026, promoted by Edipo Re Social Enterprise under the artistic direction of Silvia Jop.
A space overlooking the Lagoon, a cinema hall, talks, music, aperitifs, street food, collaborations with cultural and film institutions, and a network of relationships with Venetian associations: over time, Isola Edipo has become one of the most interesting cultural projects accompanying the Venice Film Festival, and one of the lenses through which to read the city and its cultural scene: Who Makes Cinema in Venice.
Isola Edipo: A Place of the Film Festival
During the days when the Festival concentrates cinema and professionals from around the world at the Lido, Isola Edipo creates a space of connection between the festival and the city.
Riva di Corinto, overlooking the Lagoon, is the venue for encounters, music, performances, aperitifs, and dinners. Throughout the day and evening it becomes a space frequented by audiences, authors, artists, and people who live at the Lido.
Sala Laguna, on via Pietro Buratti, hosts screenings, encounters, masterclasses, performances, and part of the programming developed together with Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days).
Ten Years of Isola Edipo
The story of Isola Edipo originates from the experience of Edipo Re and develops through the work of Silvia Jop, Sibylle Righetti, Enrico Vianello, and the group that over the years has built and developed the project.
The Edipo Re is a historic sailing vessel connected to Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giuseppe Zigaina, and Maria Callas, which became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals and the origin of Edipo Re Social Enterprise, a project active in culture, sustainable tourism, and inclusion.
Over the years, collaborations have developed with Giornate degli Autori, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Ca’ Foscari University, and numerous cultural and social organizations. One of the most recognizable projects is the Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award, which reached its ninth edition in 2026 and is recognized as an official collateral award of the Venice International Film Festival.
The award expresses an important part of Isola Edipo’s identity: using cinema to observe the present, connecting languages and people, and addressing social issues through films, encounters, and education.
Beat Presser and Images from the Set of Fitzcarraldo
Among the main projects of the 2026 edition is Conquest of the Useless, an exhibition developed as part of the new project Take Another Little Piece of My ART.
The exhibition brings together 27 original photographs by Beat Presser, a Swiss artist and photographer who followed Werner Herzog during the making of Fitzcarraldo. The images document from the inside one of the most complex productions in cinema history and show the relationship between set, landscape, people, and working conditions.
The exhibition, curated by Simon Baker and Valeria Diaz Granada with the Swiss artistic platform rossogranada, also includes materials related to the film and is accompanied by a masterclass by Beat Presser.
Laguna Libre: During the Festival, Venice Is Also Discussed
Laguna Libre, scheduled for September 8 and 9 at Riva di Corinto, uses the international presence generated by the Festival also to open discussions concerning those who live and work in Venice. The project creates a space for dialogue among associations, institutions, and organizations active in the city around four themes: citizenship rights, the Lagoon and sustainability, arts and childhood.
Venetian organizations such as Closer, Fie a Manetta, Ocio, and Rete Cinema in Laguna participate.
Cinema, Memory, and Inclusion
The relationship between cinema and society also runs through The Cinema of Inclusion Between Vision and Education, a project developed with Giornate degli Autori and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, one of the formats through which Isola Edipo accompanies film viewing with reflection on how cinema constructs and represents the contemporary world.
The 2026 edition, titled Memories for the Future, addresses the role of sources in the cinematic construction of individual and collective narratives. The program involves Mohamed Abdouni, Alain Gomis, and Costanza Quatriglio, in dialogue with Alina Marazzi, through screenings, encounters, and education.
Venetian Nights
Notti Veneziane (Venetian Nights) also returns to Sala Laguna, a program created with Giornate degli Autori and dedicated to contemporary Italian cinema, which has for years helped make Sala Laguna a reference point for independent cinema during the festival.
Films, documentaries, and hybrid works are presented every evening together with their authors, offering audiences a free program parallel to the Festival screenings.
Theater, Performance, and New Languages
The 2026 program also encompasses theater, performance, and music. Lorenzo Maragoni, a member of the Inclusion and Sustainability Award jury together with Monir Ghassem and Marco Ripoldi, presents Tipico Maschio Italiano (Typical Italian Male), a performance also developed through dialogue with associations working on gender-based violence.
On September 9, Isola Edipo presents Chemiakin by Anatoly Balchev, a film dedicated to Russian-American artist Mikhail Chemiakin, introduced by journalist Pietro Del Soldà.
Monday, September 7: Frame Her Vision, Women of Contemporary Cinema
September 7, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Riva di Corinto
Frame Her Vision, a roundtable dedicated to the women who are helping to define contemporary cinema in front of and behind the camera, returns for its fourth year.
Presented by Songhay Empire, the encounter brings together directors, authors, producers, and creative direction professionals to reflect on the role of women in the future of cinema.
In Venice, the project is supported by FEMS Du Cinéma, the Venetian association engaged with issues of female presence in cinema, responsible among other things for Cinema Barchin.
To participate: RSVP to contact@framehervision.org
Updates and Speakers for Frame Her Vision
Saturday, September 12: Free Concert by Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti
The tenth edition concludes on September 12 with a free concert by Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti. The band returns to Isola Edipo ten years after being featured in the first edition.
Isola Edipo 2026: Program and Information
September 2–12, 2026
Riva di Corinto
Lido di Venezia
Sala Laguna
Via Pietro Buratti 1, Lido di Venezia
Cinema, photography, art, theater, encounters, performances, music, and activities dedicated to the city.
