Sorrentino's new film 'La Grazia' to open Venice Film Festival

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's new film, "La Grazia," has been chosen to open the 82nd Venice Film Festival on August 27.

The film marks the filmmaker's seventh collaboration with Toni Servillo, star of the award-winning "The Great Beauty", which earned Sorrentino the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014.

"I am delighted that the 82nd Venice Film Festival opens with Paolo Sorrentino's new and highly anticipated film," said the event's artistic director, Alberto Barbera.

"I like to remember that one of the most important and internationally acclaimed Italian authors debuted in Venice in 2001 with his first feature, 'One Man Too Many', during my first years as artistic director," he added.

In 2021, the director also won the Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize at the festival for "The Hand of God". "Now, Sorrentino's return to the competition comes with a film destined to stand out for its great originality and strong connection with the present," highlighted Barbera.

Described as "a love story" set in Italy, "La Grazia," or "The Grace," also stars Massimo Venturiello and Anna Ferzetti and is set mainly in Piedmont and the region's capital Turin, including the world-famous Egyptian Museum, but some scenes were filmed in Rome's historic center.

The Venice Film Festival will take place between August 27 and September 6, 2025.