Venice 83: Clooney awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
Anticipation is building for the upcoming Venice International Film Festival, which will take place on the Lido of Venice from 2 to 12 September
At the upcoming Venice International Film Festival – the 83rd edition, to be held on the Lido di Venezia from 2 to 12 September – George Clooney will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
“I’ve had so many extraordinary moments in Venice. The Venice Film Festival is without a doubt my favourite festival, and receiving the Golden Lion is an immense honour. It probably also means I’m getting on in years, but that’s fine,” commented the American actor, director and producer.
The decision was taken by the Biennale’s Board of Directors, which endorsed the proposal put forward by the Exhibition’s Artistic Director, Alberto Barbera.
A choice that Barbera himself explains as follows: “In his triple role as actor, director and producer, George Clooney is a complete and charismatic artist, passionate and original, having succeeded in transforming a deep-seated vocation into one of the most brilliant stories in contemporary cinema. A career that began without taking any shortcuts – starting with small roles in TV series and B-movies, leading up to his major success as the lead in the series ER – has shaped an actor capable of commanding the screen with disarming naturalness, endowing him with the gift of making his characters seem not only credible but also likeable, relatable and human, thanks also to his undeniable charm.”
‘But Clooney’s charisma is built on credibility, not on image, because his appeal has never been purely aesthetic. A perfect blend of old-school star glamour, great professionalism and modern sensibility, the actor has moved across genres with remarkable versatility: war films such as *Three Kings* and *Syriana*, the thriller *Michael Clayton*, sophisticated comedies such as *Ocean’s Eleven* and *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*, science fiction such as *Gravity* and *Solaris*, and bittersweet comedies such as *Bitter Moon*, *Up in the Air* and *Jay Kelly*. In each of these films, he has adapted his performance style without ever betraying his true self: ironic and melancholic, charming and thoughtful, brilliant and capable of unexpected depth,” continues the artistic director of the Lido.
