Overview

• Sorrentino’s La Grazia premiered in competition, drawing sustained applause at the press screening.
• Festival director Alberto Barbera called the event a place of openness with no exclusions and expressed sorrow over the war in Gaza as demonstrations were announced.
• Emanuela Fanelli hosted the opening ceremony, with Alexander Payne presiding over the main jury and Julia Ducournau leading Orizzonti.
• Werner Herzog received the career Golden Lion, with Francis Ford Coppola delivering the laudatio.
• The Orizzonti section opened with Mother by Teona Strugar Mitevska starring Noomi Rapace, and La Grazia is slated for Italian release on January 15, 2026 via PiperFilm.