Jude Law, Alicia Vikander & Paul Dano Attend 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' Photocall at Venice Film Festival 2025

Jude Law, Alicia Vikander and Paul Dano are ready to premiere their new film!

The actors all attended the photocall for The Wizard of the Kremlin (Le Mage Du Kremlin) during the 2025 Venice Film Festival on Sunday (August 31) in Venice, Italy.

It’s based on Le Mage du Kremlin by Giuliano da Empoli.

Keep reading to find out more…

The cast also includes Tom Sturridge, Will Keen, and Jeffrey Wright.

Here’s a synopsis, via the film festival: “Russia, early 1990s. Amid post-Soviet chaos, a brilliant young man, Vadim Baranov (Dano), charts his path. First an artist, then a reality tv producer, he becomes the spin doctor to a rising KGB agent: Vladimir Putin (Law). At the heart of power, Baranov shapes the new Russia, blurring the boundaries between truth and lies, belief and manipulation. Only the magnetic Ksenia (Vikander) is beyond his control, tempting him away from this dangerous game. Years later, after retreating into silence and shrouded in mystery, Baranov finally opens up, revealing the dark secrets of the regime he helped build.”

Olivier Assayas, the director, also shared a statement about the production.

“Le Mage du Kremlin is not a film about the rise of one man — nor is it about the force with which power is imposed, or the reinvention of a nation that is both modern and archaic, once again under the yoke of totalitarianism,” he said.

“Rooted in real, contemporary events, it is instead a reflection on modern politics — or rather, the smokescreens behind which it now hides: cynical, deceptive, and toxic.
Today’s power players wield tools of mass manipulation and distortion with a precision that was once unimaginable. In that sense, Le Mage du Kremlin is not so much a political film as it is a film about politics — and the perversity of its methods, which now hold us all hostage.”

“I believe — or perhaps I’m deluding myself — that exposing the inner workings of lies and oppression is still worth pursuing. That belief is what led me to adapt Giuliano da Empoli’s novel for the screen. It bears witness to a drama still unfolding on the world stage, but seen through an achingly human lens. It is the troubled humanity of Vadim Baranov’s fate that both guides and unsettles us. His love affair with Ksenia — a lucid observer and merciless judge of his manoeuvres — mirrors our own moral journey between good and evil. How, despite everything, can we find redemption? How do we walk this razor’s edge — guilty and innocent, and yet all tragically complicit?”

See which other movies just premiered at the film festival, and check out all the photos!