Venice Film Festival opens with La Grazia amid Gaza protests

The 82nd Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday night with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia, setting the tone for 10 days of cinema, glamour and conversation on global issues. The festival, held annually on the Lido, is one of the most prestigious stops in the film calendar—and this year, it is as much about politics as it is about premieres.

The Venice Film Festival has kicked off with Paolo Sorrentino's “La Grazia”

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, known for his Oscar-winning film The Great Beauty, returned to Venice with a drama that’s markedly different from his past works. La Grazia follows a fictional Italian president, played by Sorrentino’s longtime collaborator Toni Servillo, who faces a profound moral dilemma at the end of his term. Torn between signing a bill that would legalise euthanasia and grieving the loss of his wife, the character wrestles with duty and personal anguish.

“This was a moral dilemma that was interesting to tell,” Sorrentino said. “I have thought for years that moral dilemmas are very interesting for storytelling.”

Festival director Alberto Barbera noted that the film surprised the selection committee. “It’s a different Sorrentino from what we are used to—far less baroque and formalistic than his previous films. It’s a very unexpected story,” Barbera said.

A glittering line-up with awards in sight

The Venice Film Festival often serves as a launchpad for awards season, and La Grazia is one of 21 titles competing for the Golden Lion. Other major contenders include Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Kathryn 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.

Over the years, Venice has hosted the premieres of films that went on to win Oscars, and expectations are high once again. The jury, headed by Sideways director Alexander Payne, also includes Brazilian actor Fernanda Torres and other international filmmakers. “I arrived in Venice yesterday and soon found myself watching a restored silent film next to Francis Ford Coppola,” Payne said. “I thought, ‘I’m in heaven.’”

Hollywood names such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson are among the stars expected on the red carpet this year, alongside auteurs like del Toro and Bigelow.

Politics outside the red carpet

While inside the festival’s halls cinema reigns supreme, outside, real-world politics dominate. The conflict in Gaza has sparked protests on the Lido, with demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags and banners calling for an end to violence. A larger march is scheduled for Saturday, according to Martina Vergnano of the Social Centers of the Northeast, one of the organisers.

“There are hundreds of associations, social centres and festival participants who have signed on to the protest,” Vergnano said. A banner at the protest read: “Free Palestine, Stop the Genocide,” alongside the date and time of the upcoming march.

Questions about the conflict reached the festival stage, with some calling for actors such as Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler to be disinvited. Barbera clarified that the festival does not boycott artists or take political positions.

Sorrentino, who recently called the situation in Gaza a “genocide,” faced questions about his film’s distributor, Mubi, due to its connections with Sequoia Capital, which has ties to the Israeli military. The filmmaker redirected the question to Mubi representatives, who declined to comment, and the conversation returned to cinema. Jury president Payne also faced similar questions. “I feel a little bit unprepared for that question,” he admitted. “I’m here to judge and talk about cinema.”

The festival runs through 6 September, with its winners announced on closing night.

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