Maggie Gyllenhaal’s short film Flesh Impact, set for Venice, revisits Marilyn Monroe centennial through Dakota Johnson connection

A short film titled Flesh Impact is scheduled to premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival as part of the cultural spotlight around Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, according to a report from The Guardian. The film, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is designed around Monroe-related storytelling that, in the reporting, also ties Monroe’s modern-day celebrity afterlife to Dakota Johnson in genealogical terms.

The Guardian’s coverage centers on a specific family connection between Monroe and Johnson, writing that Monroe is Johnson’s ninth cousin, three times removed. The report frames that lineage as an example of how public interest in celebrity histories can carry into contemporary casting and cultural narrative, drawing attention to how widely discussed family trees can become part of media storytelling cycles.

In its description of the project, The Guardian says Flesh Impact is written and directed by Gyllenhaal and will feature two versions of Monroe. The report does not, in the material provided here, spell out the full casting list, but it indicates that the film will approach Monroe through more than one portrayal, using that structure as a basis for how the centennial material is staged.

The film is positioned by The Guardian as a direct response to Monroe’s milestone anniversary, with the Venice Film Festival serving as the launch platform for the work. Venice, which routinely attracts a mix of auteur-driven short-form projects alongside larger features, is expected to offer the film an international stage and an early critical and industry audience for a project built around legacy and historical image.

The new Monroe-related film arrives amid ongoing mainstream interest in celebrity ancestry, where genealogical connections are increasingly used in media coverage to create narrative hooks for audiences. In this case, The Guardian’s reporting links the centennial-themed film announcement with the Monroe-Johnson relationship as a shared point of cultural attention.

Flesh Impact’s premiere at Venice is the next confirmed milestone in the project’s public rollout, with the film’s debut taking place at the festival sometime during the current edition, as described in the report. Beyond that premiere, details including full cast, runtime, distribution plans, and any subsequent screenings or releases are not included in the provided materials and would require additional reporting to confirm.