The Venice Film Festival showcased several notable premieres on Tuesday, featuring a range of high-profile projects including a new documentary on Elon Musk by filmmaker Alex Gibney and a psychological thriller starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Gibney’s documentary, titled “Musk,” runs close to four hours and includes an intermission. The film offers an extensive exploration of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s power and influence. An Oscar-winning documentarian known for his previous work on subjects such as Enron and Elizabeth Holmes, Gibney initially approached Musk as a potential interview subject, describing himself as a tentative admirer. However, Musk declined to participate, prompting Gibney to pursue the story through rigorous investigation. The final product challenges popular perceptions of Musk, with Gibney stating that the film “upended the myth” of Musk as a contemporary renaissance figure akin to Leonardo da Vinci.

Adding to the festival’s draw, Cruz and Bardem, a real-life couple with a long history of collaboration, premiered “Bunker,” directed by Florian Zeller. The film centers on an architect who agrees to construct a survivalist bunker for a billionaire client, an endeavor that strains his marriage. Zeller wrote the script with Cruz and Bardem in mind, drawing on their extensive collaborative history dating back to the 1992 film “Jamón Jamón.” Through the intimate story of the couple’s relationship, “Bunker” engages with broader contemporary issues such as ecological anxiety, social inequality, and individualism.

Both films represent the diverse range of narratives featured at the Venice Film Festival, from documentary investigations of influential figures to intimate dramas set against urgent global themes.