VENICE, ITALY – The 82nd Venice International Film Festival will open with Grace, a new film by Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino, it was announced today. The world premiere screening will take place on August 27, 2025, in competition at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido of Venice.
Grace stars Toni Servillo and Anna Ferzetti. The film is written and directed by Sorrentino, known for his acclaimed works including The Hand of God, The Great Beauty, and The Young Pope.
Alberto Barbera, director of the Biennale Cinema, stated, “I am very happy that to open the 82nd International Film Festival of the Venice Biennale is the new, highly anticipated film by Paolo Sorrentino. I like to remember that one of the most important and appreciated Italian authors internationally made his debut at the Venice Biennale in 2001 with his first film, The extra Man, in my first years as an artistic director.A link with the consolidated exhibition over the years with the presentation of the first episodes of the The young Pope series (first and second season) and, above all, with The hand of God which, in 2021, deserved the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize.” Barbera continued, “Paolo Sorrentino’s return to competition takes place with a film destined to leave his mark for his great originality and strong harmony with the present, which the exhibition’s audience will have the pleasure of discovering on the opening evening.”
Grace is a Fremantle production, produced by the apartment, a Fremantle company, alongside Number 10 and PiperFilm. PiperFilm will distribute the film in Italy. Wild Bunch holds worldwide rights to the film, excluding Italy, where distribution is handled by PiperFilm. The Match Factory is managing international sales.
sorrentino previously won the silver lion – Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film festival in 2021 for The Hand of God. He first presented a film at the festival in 2001 with The Extra Man, coinciding with Barbera’s initial years as artistic director.
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival runs from August 27 to September 6, 2025.
