Venice Film Festival kicks off with Paolo Sorrentino's 'La Grazia' and questions about Gaza

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 conflict in Gaza has also already been an everpresent topic both outside the festival's walls, where protesters gathered, and during the news conferences. 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 as a fictional Italian president who is paralyzed by indecision near the end of his term, grappling with signing a bill that allows euthanasia and mourning his late wife. Sorrentino said that he was inspired to write the film by a real case of an Italian president who pardoned a man that had killed his wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer's. The title of the film, can be translated to "the pardon" in English, he said. "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." 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. "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." Winners are decided on by a jury of international filmmakers and actors, including "Sideways" director Alexander Payne and Brazilian actor Fernanda Torres. Payne, who is president of this year's jury, said he arrived to Venice yesterday and was soon seated next to Francis Ford Coppola watching a restoration of a 1920s silent film. "I thought, 'I'm in heaven," Payne said. "This is heaven." News about the real world has also been top of mind at the festival, where steps away from the main headquarters, anti-war protesters gathered earlier Wednesday to turn the spotlight to Gaza. A march is also planned for Saturday evening. Martina Vergnano, an activist with the Social Centers of the Northeast, one of the protest organizers, said hundreds of associations, social centers and film festival participants had signed onto the petition to participate in the protest Saturday. Vergnano spoke in front of the red carpet alongside about a dozen protesters flying Palestinian flags and holding a banner that read: "Free Palestine, Stop the Genocide" with the time and date of Saturday's protest. There have been calls to disinvite actors like Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler from attending the festival for their views, but Barbera said that the festival does not boycott artists, nor does it make political statements. Sorrentino, who recently called the situation in Gaza a "genocide" was asked about Mubi, the company that is distributing his film. Mubi, the indie film shop behind last year's "The Substance," has come under scrutiny because of funder Sequoia Capital's ties to the Israeli military. The filmmaker redirected the floor to "somebody from Mubi," who declined to speak. A moderator redirected the conversation back to the film. Payne also faced questions Wednesday afternoon about the conflict and Hollywood's responsibility to address it. "I feel a little bit unprepared for that question," Payne said. "I'm here to judge and talk about cinema." The festival runs through Sept. 6.