NEWS

Werner Herzog Receives Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice 2025

On August 27, 2025, Werner Herzog received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the opening ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The award was presented by Francis Ford Coppola.

In his remarks, Herzog said: “I’m very moved. I didn’t expect this. Thank you, Biennale Film Festival of Venezia. The festival has always been good to me. It has been wonderful ground to meet my colleagues and meet my audience. It feels odd now that I have a winged lion.”

Herzog also spoke about his new documentary Ghost Elephants, which premiered out of competition at Venice. He described it as “a deeper form of poetry, a search for truth in unusual ways,” adding that it is “not so much about elephants but about the spirits of elephants, the ghosts of elephants.”

Ghost Elephants was also shown at the Telluride Film Festival and will be screened in December at the Filmmuseum München. Screening details will be announced later.