Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard made its world premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 3, entering the main competition for the Golden Lion. The film stars real-life sisters Kate and Rooney Mara as Jean and Joan Holbrooke: twins who speak in perfect synchrony, share identical dreams, and fall in love with the same man.
The premiere earned an extended standing ovation. Herzog was visibly moved, wiping away tears and holding his hand to his heart before taking a final bow and blowing a kiss to the audience.
Herzog trimmed rehearsal from two weeks to five days after watching the sisters work together. "I said, 'No more. I'm completely confident it's going to be wonderful. Stop this, shut up, we'll meet in Ireland in front of my camera,'" he said. He described their work as "unprecedented," adding: "we have not seen anything like this in film history."
This is the Mara sisters' first on-screen collaboration. Rooney Mara described the dynamic: "There was just an unspoken world between us that we didn't have to work very hard to create." Kate Mara said the synchronized speaking "felt almost like a song."
Orlando Bloom plays Gareth Mulroney, the man both sisters love. On watching the Maras work: "They were almost like they were breathing together, dreaming together, loving together."
Bucking Fastard runs 109 minutes and was produced by Providence Road Entertainment and Gateway to Orkney, with cinematography by Peter Zeitlinger. Herzog dedicated the film to David Lynch. The film also heads to TIFF 2026 and the NYFF Spotlight Gala. The Golden Lion winner will be announced September 12.