13 Minutes of Applause: Inside the Venice Premiere of Wild Horse Nine
John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey and other festival guests gathered on the red carpet.
One of the standout premieres of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival was Martin McDonagh’s new film Wild Horse Nine. The filmmaker behind In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin once again brings together dark humour, sharp dialogue and characters forced to confront their own pasts.
Set in 1973, shortly before the military coup in Chile, the story follows two CIA agents, Chris and Lee, who are sent from Santiago to Easter Island. Far from the world they know and surrounded by the island’s monumental moai statues, their mission gradually turns into a reckoning with guilt, politics and the consequences of decisions they can no longer escape.
John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell lead the cast, joined by Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits, Mariana Di Girolamo and Ailín Salas.
The premiere became one of the most talked-about moments of the festival’s opening days. Following the screening, the audience gave the filmmakers and cast a standing ovation lasting around 13 minutes. Much of the attention centred on Malkovich: his performance as Chris, an ageing CIA agent facing a personal and moral crisis, earned him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
For the red carpet, Malkovich wore a Dior suit with an ivory shirt and a dramatic pleated collar, creating one of the festival’s most memorable menswear moments. Rockwell appeared alongside Leslie Bibb, who chose a floor-length gown in shades of blue and black. Steve Buscemi was joined by Karen Ho, while McDonagh attended with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, dressed in a white cape blouse and wide-leg black trousers.
Laura Dern was also among the premiere’s guests, wearing a sheer black Dior gown decorated with floral embroidery. The evening’s elegant black-and-white palette, minimal details and occasional theatrical accents made it one of the festival’s most stylish red carpets.
Even before its theatrical release, Wild Horse Nine had already become one of the most discussed films in Venice. The film is set to arrive in cinemas in November 2026.
Photo: VALERIIA KALIUPANOVA
