Venice, Italy – The Venice Film Festival opens Wednesday with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia.”
The 82nd edition of the Glamurous International Film Festival stars a host of Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Dwayne Johnson, and renowned auteurs from Guillermo del Toro to Kathryn Bigelow, all of whom have films debuting over the next 10 days.
The festival, which takes place on the Lido, chose to open with the latest film from one of Italy’s most respected working filmmakers. “La Grazia” stars Sorrentino’s longtime collaborator Toni Servillo, although the plot has remained under wraps.
Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera told The Associated Press that “La Grazia” surprised them.
“It’s a different Sorrentino than what we’re used to,” Barbera said. “Much less baroque and formalistic than the previous films he’s made. It’s a very unexpected story.”
Sorrentino, best known for his Oscar-winning film “The Great Beauty,” made his Venice Film Festival debut 24 years ago with “One Man Up.” He also won the Silver Lion in 2021 for “Hand of God,” which went on to be nominated for an Oscar. Many films that premiere at Venice go on to be nominated for and win Oscars.
Before the world premiere, anti-war protesters also plan to hold a press conference in front of the famous red carpet to put a spotlight on Gaza.
“La Grazia” is one of 21 films playing in the festival’s main competition. Other titles competing for the prestigious Golden Lion award include Del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Bigelow’s “A Dynamite House,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” Benny Safdie’s “Smashing Machine” and Kouther Ben Hania’s “Voice Of Hind Rajab. ”
The festival runs until September 6th.
___
To learn more about the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival In the area
