Venice Film Festival kicks off with Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘La Grazia’

The Venice Film Festival kicks off with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” on Wednesday evening

VENICE, Italy -- The Venice Film Festival is kicking off with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” on Wednesday.

The 82nd edition of the glamourous international film festival is playing host to many Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, and famed auteurs, from Guillermo del Toro to Kathryn Bigelow, who all have films debuting over the next 10 days.

The festival, which takes place on the Lido, chose to open with the newest film from one of Italy’s most revered 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” took them by surprise.

“It’s a different Sorrentino from what we are used to,” Barbera said. “Far less baroque and formalistic than the previous films he made. It’s a very unexpected story.”

Sorrentino, best known for his Oscar-winning film “The Great Beauty,” made his debut at the Venice Film Festival 24 years ago with the film “One Man Up.” He also won the Silver Lion prize in 2021 for “The Hand of God,” which went on to be nominated for an Oscar. Many films that premiere at Venice go on to Oscar nominations and wins.

Before the glitzy world premiere, anti-war protesters also plan to hold a news conference in front of the famed red carpet to put a spotlight on Gaza.

“La Grazia” is one of the 21 films playing in the festival’s main competition. Other titles vying for the prestigious Golden Lion prize include del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia,” Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” and Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab. ”

The festival runs through Sept. 6.

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For more coverage of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.