VMAs 2025 and Venice Film Festival Highlights: 10 Unmissable Moments from Music and Cinema's Biggest Stages

As summer is reaching its end and September has rolled in, two of the biggest cultural events of the year took place. In the U.S., the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards lit up Newark, New Jersey with pop spectacle while across the Atlantic, the Venice Film Festival delivered world premieres and historic wins. From red carpet to red carpet and, publicity stunts to career-defining accolades, let’s take a look at 10 moments across the worlds of music and film that had everyone talking!

Mariah Carey receives the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award

The immortal Mariah Carey has spent more than three decades shaping not only pop music and but the music video as an art form, and this year she finally received the MTV’s lifetime achievement honour: the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award . Presented by Ariana Grande, the award recognized Carey’s massive legacy and marked her first Moonman after nine previous nominations. She debuted a new track, “Sugar Sweet,” from her upcoming album Here for It All and would also win Best R&B Video for “Type Dangerous.”

Sabrina Carpenter’s performance becomes a trans rights Statement

Sabrina Carpenter used her stage time at the VMAs to deliver more than just a catchy pop performance. During “Tears,” she was joined by several drag performers and dancers, with visual backdrops bearing phrases like “In Trans We Trust” and “Dolls, Dolls, Dolls.” The performance became one of the night’s most politically resonant moments. By using a massive platform to champion visibility and inclusion, Carpenter tapped into a long-standing VMA tradition of pop artists using spectacle as protest. Carpenter took home Best Pop Artist, Best Album and Best Visual Effects

Doja Cat eats her lipstick (sort of)

Cameras caught Doja Cat casually biting into what appeared to be her lipstick, which turned out to be a fully edible chocolate replica crafted by pastry artist Amaury Guichon. The surreal stunt wasn’t just to get people talking: it announced her new role as MAC Cosmetics’ Global Ambassador and kicked off speculation about her upcoming album with a fake price tag labelled “$9.13,” thought to hint at a release date.

Lady Gaga gets personal with her Artist of the Year Win

Lady Gaga took home Artist of the Year- one of the VMAs’ biggest honours and used the moment to offer some inspiring words and offer a rare look into her personal life. In an emotional speech, she dedicated the win to her fiancé, entrepreneur Michael Polansky, and thanked fans for their unwavering support throughout her many eras. She spoke to the many creatives around the world, saying: “Being an artist is an attempt to connect the souls of people all over the world. Being an artist is a discipline, a craft meant for reaching into someone’s heart, where it grows its roots, and reminding them to dream.” Gaga led the awards with 12 nominations, picking up four.

Firsts, and career tributes

Additionally, this year delivered a slate of boundary-pushing wins. Rosé of BLACKPINK made history as the first K-pop soloist to win Song of the Year, sharing the honour for her viral track “APT.” Meanwhile, hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes received the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, honouring his decades of groundbreaking visuals and unmatched stage presence.

While the VMAs gave us the glitz and the glam, the viral moments and edible lipstick, over in Italy, the 81st Venice Film Festival brought a different kind of spectacle: the ever-talked about standing ovations that stretch for minutes, powerhouse performances that left actors in tears, and breakthrough voices in global cinema. Here are the five defining moments from Venice that had the industry buzzing.

Jim Jarmusch takes the Golden Lion at Venice

At the Venice Film Festival, indie auteur Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai) surprised many by winning the coveted Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize, for his film Father Mother Sister Brother. Structured as a triptych and starring Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps, and Cate Blanchett, the film explores familial disconnect through a minimalist lens. While not the flashiest entry at the festival, it was certainly (obviously) one of the most talked about, marking another victory in Jarmusch’s long career.

The Voice of Hind Rajab sets record

The Voice of Hind Rajab, a gut-wrenching docudrama by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, follows the real-life final moments of a six-year-old Palestinian girl caught in a war zone, whose voice message became a haunting symbol of civilian suffering. The audience response was immediate and overwhelming, with a 23-minute standing ovation (the longest for any film in history) and widespread reports of tears in the theatre, making it one of the most emotionally impactful moments of the whole festival. It later received the Grand Jury Prize, solidifying its place as one of the festival’s defining works.

Dwayne Johnson moved to tears at the premiere of The Smashing Machine

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has long been seen as an action star- one of the most successful of all time, but he has never quite been able to showcase his range as an actor. At Venice, he showed a different side of himself with the premiere of The Smashing Machine, where he stars as real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The intense biopic, directed by Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time- both co-directed with his brother Josh), follows Kerr’s rise and fall, addiction struggles, and emotional unraveling behind the scenes of his athletic fame. After the screening, the film received a 15-minute standing ovation, during which Johnson visibly broke down in tears. Safdie was later awarded Best Director, and critics began calling Johnson’s performance the best of his career- not to mention a serious Oscar contender.

Anuparna Roy’s historic win for Indian cinema

Anuparna Roy became the first Indian filmmaker to win Best Director in the Orizzonti section of the festival, a section of the festival focused on emerging voices and boundary-pushing cinema. Her film, Songs of Forgotten Trees, is a meditative drama rooted in India’s Indigenous forest communities, exploring the weight of generational memory, environmental loss, and cultural erasure. Roy’s win marks a significant moment because, despite their powerhouse Bollywood scene, indie cinema from the country rarely receives this level of international. She delivered an emotional speech, dedicating the award to “the women who carry forests in their bones and stories in their silence,” underscoring the film’s connection to overlooked voices and ancestral knowledge.

Queer love triumphs with On the Road

Mexican director David Pablos captivated critics with On the Road, a film that earned both the Queer Lion and Best Orizzonti Film awards. The film follows two men falling in love while navigating societal pressures, family obligations, and personal risk. Its double win at Venice underscores the growth and recognition of more nuanced LGBTQ+ stories in world cinema- not just as subplots, but as main narratives.

So, whether it was a pop icon finally getting her flowers, a wrestler-turned-actor shedding real tears, or a young Palestinian girl’s voice shaking a room full of critics, the past week reminded us why music and film still matter, and should still be celebrated!