Venice Film Festival kicks off
Hollywood star George Clooney arrives with wife Amal Credit: @DEADLINE

The prestigious Venice Film Festival began with the premiere of Paolo Sorrentinoโ€™s La Grazia on Wednesday.

The 82nd edition is host to several Hollywood stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson.

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

Theย Gaza conflict is hogging the limelight outside the premises as well as the press meets, reports AP.

The festival on the Lido, opened La Grazia featuring Toni Servillo playing a fictional Italian president crippled by indecision.

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

โ€œThis was a moral dilemma that was interesting to tell,โ€ Sorrentino said.

โ€œI have thought for years that moral dilemmas are very interesting for storytelling.โ€

Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera informed AP that La Grazia was a surprise element.

โ€œItโ€™s a different Sorrentino from what we are used to,โ€ Barbera said.

Also Read: Pather Panchali@70: Relevant or not? Debate rages on

And he added, โ€œFar less baroque and formalistic than the previous films he made. Itโ€™s a very unexpected story.โ€

La Grazia is one of the 21 films playing in the main competition.

Others gunning for the Golden Lion are del Toro’s Frankenstein , Bigelowโ€™s A House of Dynamite, Yorgos Lanthimosโ€™s Bugonia and others.

Meanwhile, anti-war protesters assembled to underline the atrocities in Gaza. 

A march is scheduled for Saturday evening.

There have been demands to cancel invitations to actors like Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler for their opinion.

However, Barbera said that the festival does not boycott artistes.

It also stays away from political observations.

The festival will continue till September 6.