The Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award has been presented to American artist and director Julian Schnabel during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (August 27th – September 6th, 2025). This prestigious honor, dedicated to individuals who have made an original and impactful contribution to the film industry, highlights Schnabel’s unique ability to merge the sensibility of a painter with the vision of a filmmaker.
Venice Film Festival 2025: celebrating multidisciplinary vision
The award ceremony took place on September 3rd at the Palazzo del Cinema, just before the Out of Competition world premiere of Schnabel’s highly anticipated feature In the Hand of Dante. Festival director Alberto Barbera emphasized that each of Schnabel’s films creates its own universe, describing his work as imaginative, generous, and rich in life. Cartier’s representatives echoed this sentiment, underlining the Maison’s admiration for Schnabel’s multidisciplinary creativity that spans painting, sculpture, architecture, and cinema.
‘In the Hand of Dante’: a story across centuries
The premiere of In the Hand of Dante brought together an extraordinary cast, including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa, and Franco Nero. Adapted from Nick Tosches’ novel, the film follows a mysterious manuscript of The Divine Comedy that draws author Tosches into a perilous underworld. The narrative shifts between 14th-century Italy and contemporary New York, weaving together the obsessions of Dante Alighieri and Tosches as both men chase truth, beauty, and the divine.
Schnabel described the film as a meditation on reincarnation, failure, and artistic transcendence, suggesting that Nick and Dante mirror one another’s search for perfection. He reflected on his own path, remarking that “everything I really have to say is in my art.”
Glory to the Filmmaker: a career rooted in art
Though celebrated as a filmmaker, Schnabel first rose to prominence as a painter, with exhibitions such as For Esmé – with Love and Squalor (2022, Los Angeles) and Bouquet of Mistakes (2023, New York) showcasing his distinct visual language. His cinematic works—including Basquiat (1996), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), and At Eternity’s Gate (2018)—have consistently revealed his fascination with the inner lives of artists and the process of creation itself.
Receiving the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award in Venice marks not just a celebration of Schnabel’s new film but of his decades-long commitment to pushing boundaries across disciplines. For Schnabel, Venice has always been a city of inspiration, and this award cements his place among the visionary voices shaping contemporary cinema.
Courtesy of VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
