VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Venice Movie Competition is kicking off with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” on Wednesday.
The 82nd version of the glamourous worldwide movie pageant is enjoying host to many Hollywood stars, together with George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, and famed auteurs, from Guillermo del Toro to Kathryn Bigelow, who all have movies debuting over the following 10 days.
The pageant, which takes place on the Lido, selected to open with the most recent movie from certainly one of Italy’s most revered working filmmakers. “La Grazia” stars Sorrentino’s longtime collaborator Toni Servillo, though the plot has remained beneath wraps.
Venice Movie Competition director Alberto Barbera instructed The Related Press that “La Grazia” took them abruptly.
“It’s a different Sorrentino from what we are used to,” Barbera mentioned. “Far less baroque and formalistic than the previous films he made. It’s a very unexpected story.”
Sorrentino, greatest recognized for his Oscar-winning movie “The Great Beauty,” made his debut on the Venice Movie Competition 24 years in the past with the movie “One Man Up.” He additionally received the Silver Lion prize in 2021 for “The Hand of God,” which went on to be nominated for an Oscar. Many movies that premiere at Venice go on to Oscar nominations and wins.
Earlier than the glitzy world premiere, anti-war protesters additionally plan to carry a information convention in entrance of the famed purple carpet to place a highlight on Gaza.
“La Grazia” is among the 21 movies enjoying within the pageant’s essential competitors. Different titles vying for the distinguished Golden Lion prize embody 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 pageant runs via Sept. 6.
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For extra protection of the 2025 Venice Movie Competition, go to https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.
