Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia to Open the 82nd Venice International Film Festival

The Venice Biennale has officially announced that La Grazia, the highly anticipated new feature written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, will be the opening film in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, under the artistic direction of Alberto Barbera. The festival will take place from August 27 to September 6, 2025.

Starring Toni Servillo and Anna Ferzetti, the film will have its world premiere on Wednesday, August 27, at the prestigious Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema, marking the official opening night of Biennale Cinema 2025.

“I am very happy that the 82^nd Venice International Film Festival will open with the new and highly anticipated film by Paolo Sorrentino,” said Artistic Director Alberto Barbera. “I like to recall that one of the most important and internationally acclaimed Italian auteurs made his debut right here at the Biennale di Venezia in 2001 with his first film, One Man Up, in my early years as the Artistic Director. Paolo Sorrentino’s return in competition comes with a film destined to leave its mark for its great originality and powerful relevance to the present time, which the audiences of the Venice Film Festival will have the pleasure of discovering on opening night.”

A welcome return to Venice for a master filmmaker

With La Grazia, Paolo Sorrentino returns to Venice in competition, reaffirming his close relationship with the festival. Since his debut at the Lido in 2001 with L’uomo in più, the Neapolitan filmmaker has presented several major works at the Venice Film Festival, including The Young Pope and The New Pope (both out of competition) and The Hand of God, which earned him the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize in 2021.

Production and international distribution

La Grazia is a Fremantle production through its company The Apartment, in collaboration with Numero 10 and PiperFilm, which will handle the Italian distribution.

Global streaming rights, excluding Italy, have been acquired by MUBI, while The Match Factory, a well-known player in the world of auteur cinema, manages international sales.

A cast led by Toni Servillo

The film stars Toni Servillo, a long-time collaborator and iconic face of Sorrentino’s cinema, from Il Divo to The Great Beauty. Alongside him is Anna Ferzetti, known for her elegant screen presence and emotional range. The return of Servillo signals a continuation of the rich aesthetic and thematic world that defines Sorrentino’s unique artistic voice.

Paolo Sorrentino: A cinematic visionary

Born in Naples in 1970, Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most celebrated auteurs of contemporary Italian and international cinema. He made his feature film debut with One Man Up in 2001, which was selected for the Venice Film Festival. In 2004 and 2006, he competed at Cannes with The Consequences of Love and The Family Friend, respectively.

His 2008 film Il Divo won the Jury Prize at Cannes, while The Great Beauty (2013) won the Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, BAFTA, and three European Film Awards for Best Foreign Film. Youth was once again in the Cannes competition and earned multiple awards and nominations in 2015.

In 2016, Sorrentino ventured into high-end television with the acclaimed series The Young Pope, followed by The New Pope in 2019, both of which starred Jude Law and John Malkovich.

He returned to Venice with The Hand of God in 2021, a deeply personal film that earned the Silver Lion and was nominated for the Oscar® for Best International Feature Film.

Most recently, in 2024, he competed at the Cannes Film Festival with Parthenope.

Anticipation builds for an opening night to remember

La Grazia is expected to be one of the major cinematic events of the year, with its Venetian premiere setting the tone for an exciting and culturally rich 2025 edition of the festival.

Opening the Mostra with Paolo Sorrentino not only reaffirms Venice’s role as a platform for world-class auteurs but also offers audiences a cinematic experience rooted in artistic vision, beauty, and emotion.