La Grazia, a new Italian film directed by Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God, The Great Beauty, Il divo), will world premiere in competition as the opening film of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival taking place August 27 – September 6, 2025.

Details of the film starring Toni Servillo and Anna Ferzetti are being kept under wraps.

“I am very happy that the 82nd Venice International Film Festival will open with the new and highly anticipated film by Paolo Sorrentino,” commented Artistic Director Alberto Barbera.

He added, “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.”

More recently in 2021, Sorrentino 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 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.

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.