Helen Mirren, Russell Crowe, Scott Eastwood and director Gore Verbinski are among the major names set to attend the 72nd Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, which runs June 10-14. The lineup combines commercial titles, festival discoveries and special events across the historic Greek theatre in Taormina, a location known internationally from the second season of “The White Lotus.”
Crowe is expected to travel to the festival for the world premiere of “Bear Country,” an Australian action thriller directed by Derrick Borte. The film follows a veteran club owner whose plans for a peaceful retirement with his girlfriend are disrupted when a masked robber targets his business. The premiere will be staged as a special event in the ancient Greek theatre, with key cast members, including Aaron Paul, also expected to attend.
Verbinski, best known for the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, will bring his sci-fi comedy “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” which is screening in competition. The competition lineup also includes Ashley Walters’ coming-of-age drama “Animol,” set in a British juvenile detention center; Turkish director Banu Sıvacı’s relationship drama “Hear the Yellow”; Mahnaz Mohammadi’s “Roya,” about an Iranian teacher detained in Tehran’s Evin prison; and Michael Gallagher’s “The Leader,” which stars Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga in a dramatization of the Heaven’s Gate cult.
Other competition titles include Rafiki Fariala’s “Congo Boy,” Taro Miyaoka’s horror film “Erica,” Ben Voit’s “Gropiusstadt Supernova,” Guido Chiesa’s Rome-set “Little Miracle,” and the Cuban docudrama “La Calle Pura,” about a teenager hoping to become Cuba’s next reggaeton star.
Jane Campion, the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker of “The Piano” and “The Power of the Dog,” is presiding over the jury. The panel also includes Holly Hunter, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, casting director Francine Maisler, filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr., Amazon MGM Studios executive Sue Kroll and Italian actor-director Pietro Castellitto. Helen Mirren will receive a lifetime achievement award, while Scott Eastwood will host a masterclass for students and receive an honor of his own.
Festival organizer Tiziana Rocca, who returned to lead Taormina in 2025, has expanded the event’s competitive framework. After reintroducing a 10-title competition last year, she has added a short film section this year with 11 works tied to Sicily through theme or story. The festival opener will be the Italian premiere of the first episode of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” Season 3, with cast members attending the Greek amphitheater screening.
Out of competition, Taormina will feature “The Struggle for Mother Water,” “Deep Water,” “I Wish You All the Best” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Special events include a restored screening of Luchino Visconti’s “Bellissima” on its 75th anniversary. Giuseppe Tornatore will also be honored for his docufilm “Brunello: The Gracious Visionary,” about designer Brunello Cucinelli.
