Confessions II (film)

Confessions II
Directed byTORSO
Produced by
  • Sara Zambreno
  • Mathilde Hamert
StarringMadonna
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Records
Release dates
Running time
14 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Confessions II (also known as Confessions II – The Film) is a 2026 musical short film and visual album directed by TORSO. It stars American singer Madonna and serves as the visual companion to her fifteenth studio album Confessions II (2026), built around the first six songs. It premiered on June 5, 2026, on the Tribeca Festival and was released three days later on YouTube. It received eight nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year.

Synopsis

The film opens with the spoken-word introduction from "I Feel So Free", showing Madonna seated in a revolving chair as a film crew dressed as a SWAT team breaks into the room and surrounds her with cameras. The sequence transitions into "Good for the Soul", where Madonna appears in a forest among dancers performing ritualistic choreography with green laser effects. In "One Step Away", Madonna is shown behind a rain-covered window while the scene alternates with footage of her driving recklessly on a highway. The segment ends with her crashing into a barrier and leaving a red lipstick mark on the airbag. "Bring Your Love" follows Madonna into a fog-filled nightclub, where the SWAT crew loses sight of her in the crowd, while she sings with Sabrina Carpenter. The "Danceteria" segment takes place in the nightclub bathroom. In "Read My Lips", Madonna discovers Feid behind a vanity mirror, leading into a performance surrounded by screens showing Madonna against a pink backdrop. The film then returns to the opening setup for the final "I Feel So Free" sequence, revealing that members of the SWAT crew have been reviewing the footage. One masked crew member is revealed to be Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, who walks through the apartment as the crew is shown off duty. After Leon says "Cut, bitch", the credits roll.[1][2][3]

Cast

Production

The film was directed by TORSO (David Toro and Solomon Chase) and shot over six months in London, Los Angeles and New York City, while Madonna was working on her 2026 studio album Confessions II.[4] It was built around the first six songs of the album.[5] Madonna revealed that she preferred creating a visual album rather than music videos, because she found the idea of a film more impressive than a video, which she deemed "cheap".[6] She thought of TORSO as the directors for the project and described them her idea of "transporting people" through the film.[6] The film featured costumes from both archival and recent collections of Dolce & Gabbana, including Madonna's rhinestone-embellished top from the fall 1991 collection and a body-skimming dress inspired by a silhouette from the spring 1998 collection.[7] The main choreographer was Damien Jalet, who previously collaborated with Madonna for the Madame X Tour.[8]

16 celebrities appeared in the film, including Sabrina Carpenter and Feid, featured performers on "Bring Your Love" and "Read My Lips".[1][4] It also includes cameo appearance by Julia Garner, who was tapped to play Madonna in her unrealized biographical film, as her younger version, as well as Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon.[1] The cameo appearance of Debi Mazar during "Danceteria" referenced the song being inspired by Madonna partying with her at the Danceteria nightclub in the 1980s, before either of them were famous.[9][10]

Release

On May 12, 2026, Madonna announced the film and its premiere.[11] The film premiered on June 5, 2026, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, during the Tribeca Festival; it was followed by a Q&A with Madonna and TORSO, moderated by Anderson Cooper, who filled for the initially announced moderator Jimmy Fallon.[4][6] The tickets for the event were available for purchase exclusively to Madonna Community members.[11] The film was released on YouTube on June 8, 2026.[1] On June 15, 2026, the extended version of "Bring Your Love" from the film was released as the song's standalone music video.[12] On June 24, 2026, the film had a special screening at the Max Linder Panorama in Paris, followed by a Q&A with Madonna.[13] It was also included on the alternative digital version of Confessions II album, subtitled The Film Edition.[14] On July 6, 2026, Madonna released a behind the scenes short film of the making of the video.[15]

Response

The video was watched 1.2 million times in its first 24 hours on YouTube.[16] Zoe Williams of The Guardian suggested that it would be remembered as the "vagina laser video".[16]

Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly called the film Madonna's "boldest (and best) work in years", as well as "a powerful meditation on her legacy, her future, and how the world sees her as she reaches a new dawn in a storied life that's largely played out in arenas beyond her control."[2] Consequence's Travis Bland felt that it "leads us through a feverish vision, defying the passage of time, and proving she still knows what it takes to stand out and be true to herself as well as the magnetism that made her a star."[17] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it "phantasmagoric disco dream", feeling it was "little more than a highlight reel for the album, which is exactly what music videos were originally conceived to be."[18] Clash's Robin Murray deemed it a "glitzy, all-star affair".[19] Kory Grow of Rolling Stone felt it was "something unique, neither a clip nor a short film, but a let's-get-unconscious freaky bedtime story", where "everything blended together into a fever dream".[4]

Accolades

Awards and nominations
Award Date Category Result Ref.
MTV Video Music Awards September 27, 2026 Video of the Year Pending [20]
Best Dance Pending
Best Direction Pending
Best Art Direction Pending
Best Cinematography Pending
Best Editing Pending
Best Choreography Pending
Best Visual Effects Pending

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Balzano, Cata (June 8, 2026). "Madonna's 'CONFESSIONS II – The Film' Shows Her Living a Fever-Like Dream at the Club: Watch It Now". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Nolfi, Joey (June 8, 2026). "Madonna's Confessions II short film is her boldest (and best) work in years — and all she did was tell the truth". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Unpacking All the Cameos in Madonna's Crazy, Star-Studded 'Confessions II'!". Extra. June 8, 2026. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Grow, Kory (June 6, 2026). "Madonna Premieres Surrealistic, NSFW 'Confessions II' Short Film at Tribeca: 'It's About Connection'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 8, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ Horowitz, Steven (June 6, 2026). "Madonna to Release 'Confessions II – The Film' on YouTube Next Week". Variety. Archived from the original on June 5, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Lewis, Hilary (June 6, 2026). "Madonna Brings 'Confessions II' to Tribeca Festival: Short Film Features Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia Garner and "Lasers Coming Out of Every Orifice"". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 6, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ Botelho, Rehan (June 8, 2026). "Madonna and Dolce & Gabbana Reunite for 'Confessions II – The Film'". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ Tielens, Filip (June 12, 2026). "Met de Madonna-kortfilm en de clip bij 'Storm' gaat de Belgische choreograaf Damien Jalet viraal: "Madonna is niet het type dat je doet vergeten wie ze is"". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved June 14, 2026. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Lynch, Joe (June 8, 2026). "Here's Why Late Rock Legend Lou Reed Has a Credit on Madonna's 'Confessions II' Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  10. ↑ Lynch, Joe (June 6, 2026). "Madonna Premieres 'Confessions II' Film at Tribeca Fest Featuring Sabrina Carpenter, Feid, Debi Mazar, Benedict Cumberbatch & More". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Tangcay, Jazz (May 12, 2026). "Madonna to Premiere 'Confessions II' Visual Film at Tribeca Festival". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2026. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ Dailey, Hannah (June 15, 2026). "Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter & a Surprise Guest Are Queens of the Nightclub in 'Bring Your Love' Video". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  13. ↑ Razafimanantsoa, Luna (June 25, 2026). "Drogue, sexe et grande fragilité : Madonna se lâche lors d'une rencontre ultra-secrète à Paris avec 150 fans tirés au sort" [Drugs, sex, and extreme vulnerability: Madonna lets loose during a top-secret meeting in Paris with 150 randomly selected fans]. Midi Libre (in French). Archived from the original on June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Madonna. "Confessions II: The Film Edition". Boy Toy. Archived from the original on June 30, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026 – via Apple Music.
  15. ↑ Dailey, Hannah (June 6, 2026). "'I've Waited My Whole Life to Do This': Watch Madonna's Celeb Guests Film Their 'Confessions II' Cameos". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Forshaw, Irenie (June 6, 2026). "Vagina lasers and a raunchy celebrity bathroom rave: Madonna's bold new film". The Week. Archived from the original on June 18, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ Bland, Travis (June 8, 2026). "Madonna Unveils NSFW Confessions II Short Film: Watch". Consequence. Archived from the original on June 8, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (June 8, 2026). "Review: Madonna's 'Confessions II' Short Film Is a Phantasmagoric Disco Dream". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ Murray, Robin (June 9, 2026). "Madonna Releases 'Confessions II – The Film'". Clash. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  20. ↑ Grein, Paul (August 18, 2026). "Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMA Nominations: Full List". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 18, 2026. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
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