La Biennale di Venezia is pleased to announce that La Grazia, written and directed by the Oscar®-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God, The Great Beauty, Il divo), and starring Toni Servillo and Anna Ferzetti, is the opening film, in a world premiere in competition, of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival directed by Alberto Barbera (27 August – 6 September 2025).
Photo: La Grazia Toni Servillo by Andrea Pirrello
La Grazia will have its world premiere screening on Wednesday 27 August 2025 in Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema (Lido di Venezia) on the opening night of the 82nd Biennale Cinema.
«I am very happy that the 82nd Venice International Film Festival will open with the new and highly anticipated film by Paolo Sorrentino – stated 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. The relationship with the Venice Film Festival became consolidated over the years with the presentation out of competition of the first episodes in the series The Young Pope (seasons one and two) and, above all, with The Hand of God which, in 2021, won the Silver Lion-Grand Jury Prize. 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.»
La Grazia, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, is a Fremantle film produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, by Numero 10, and by PiperFilm that will distribute it in Italy.
MUBI owns worldwide rights excluding Italy. The Match Factory is handling international sales.
Paolo Sorrentino – Biographical notes
Paolo Sorrentino by Avedon
Paolo Sorrentino, film director and screenwriter, was born in Naples in 1970. His first full-length feature film, One ManUp, dates back to 2001 and was selected for the Venice Film Festival. In 2004 he directed The Consequences of Love and in 2006 The Family Friend, both in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, with Il Divo, he returned to Cannes winning the Jury Prize. He returned in competition at the Cannes Festival in 2011 with This Must be the Place and two years later with The Great Beauty, which won the Academy Award®, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA Award for best Foreign Language Film, as well as three EFA Awards. He was selected once again in competition at Cannes in 2016 with Youth, garnering three EFA Awards, an Academy Award® nomination and two Golden Globe nominations. In 2016 he created and directed the TV series The Young Pope, nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Actor and at the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design and Outstanding Cinematography. In 2018 he directed the movie Loro starring Toni Servillo and in 2019 Sorrentino directed the second series set in the world of modern papacy, The New Pope, starring Jude Law and John Malkovich.
In 2021 he wrote and directed the The Hand of God, nominated at the 2022 Academy Award® for Best Foreign Film, winner of the Leone d’Argento Grand Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 78th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, also winner of 5 David di Donatello 2022 including Best Film and Best Director and 4 Nastri d’argento 2022 including Best Film. In 2024 he wrote and directed Parthenope, presented in competition at Cannes Film Festival.
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