Director Paolo Sorrentino's latest directorial La Grazia, which kicked off the 82nd Venice Film Festival on Wednesday night, was met with a four-minute standing ovation at the festival after the screening, reported Variety. Venice Film Festival 2025: Julia Roberts To Debut, George Clooney, Emma Stone, Dwayne Johnson and More Stars To Grace 82nd Edition.

The story of an ageing politician dealing with his own mortality and deciding the outcome of two clemency cases in his final days in office garnered appreciation from the Venice crowd inside the Sala Grande Theatre.

According to the outlet, the audience was largely comprised of Italian officials and industry members, with some star power represented by Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett.

La Grazia marks the reunion of the Oscar-winning Sorrentino with actor Toni Servillo, who has appeared in seven of the director's last 10 feature films to date.

Servillo plays a fictional Italian president named Mariano De Santis, who is torn by doubts about whether he should sign a draft law that would allow euthanasia in the Catholic country, reported Variety.

Ahead of the premiere, Sorrentino, who made his debut at Venice in 2001 with One Man Up, told Variety about his decision to portray a positive example of a politician in the film.

"Every day in the news we read about decisions made by politicians that stem from impetuosity, show of force and strange twisted ideas about how the economy works. Instead of this, I wanted to depict what a politician should be like," said Sorrentino as quoted by Variety.

During the opening night ceremony, Francis Ford Coppola presented Werner Herzog with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The event marked Coppola's first public appearance since undergoing a heart procedure in Rome earlier this month.

Among the premieres scheduled in the upcoming days of the festival includes Luca Guadagnino's thriller After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri; Jay Kelly, a comedic drama from director Noah Baumbach with George Clooney and Adam Sandler; Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein with Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac; as well as the latest Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone collaboration, Bugonia, reported Variety. Venice Film Festival to Shine with Star-studded Line-up.

The ongoing Venice Film Festival will take place till September 6, 2025.