George Clooney will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, organizers announced, as the full lineup for the September event comes into focus.
The honor, given by the festival's board on the recommendation of artistic director Alberto Barbera, recognizes Clooney's work as an actor, director and producer over more than three decades. Clooney is one of only three people to have been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories — best picture, director, lead actor, supporting actor, original screenplay and adapted screenplay.
I've had so many extraordinary moments in Venice. This festival is without question my favorite and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor. It also probably means I'm old, but I'll take it.
George Clooney
Barbera praised Clooney's range in a statement accompanying the announcement, calling him "a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original, who has transformed a deep vocation into one of the most luminous parabolas of contemporary film," and citing his humanitarian work alongside his filmmaking.
A packed lineup
The festival runs Sept. 2-12 in Venice and opens with Danny Boyle's "Ink," a drama centered on Rupert Murdoch's early tabloid career and his acquisition of The Sun. It closes, out of competition, with Giovanni Veronesi's "Dio ride."
The main competition includes new work from Martin McDonagh, Werner Herzog and Florian Zeller, along with two closely watched returns: South Korean director Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love," his first feature since 2018's "Burning," and Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Look Back." Actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over the competition jury that selects the festival's top prizes.
Venice has increasingly positioned itself as the unofficial launch pad for the fall awards season, with recent Golden Lion winners and competition premieres going on to factor heavily in Oscar campaigns. This year's mix of starry English-language titles and auteur-driven international cinema suggests festival programmers are again betting on that dual appeal to critics and studios alike.
Clooney's lifetime achievement honor will be presented during the festival, with further details on the ceremony expected closer to the September dates.
