American actor and director George Clooney, a great regular at the Venetian lagoon, will receive an honorary Golden Lion for his entire career at the 83rd Venice Film Festival (September 2-12), the festival management announced on Monday.
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“George Clooney is an accomplished and charismatic artist, and passionate and original, who knew how to transform a deep vocation into one of the most brilliant careers in contemporary cinema,” Alberto Barbera, director of the Mostra, said in a press release.
The 65-year-old actor, one of Hollywood’s most famous stars, can boast of “a career built without shortcuts, punctuated by small roles in television series and B films before his breakthrough with the series Emergency” in the 1990s, explains the director of the prestigious Venetian festival.
The actor, who has a home on the shores of Lake Como, “has explored various genres with remarkable versatility,” underlines Alberto Barbera, citing in particular “Syriana” (2005), a film for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Gravity” and “The Descendants.”
“The same goes for the nine films he has made since his time behind the camera, all revealing a vision of cinema that is both demanding and generous,” continues the director of the Mostra, saluting both “his glamor of the stars of yesteryear” and his “social and humanitarian commitment”.
“I experienced so many extraordinary moments in Venice. The Mostra is without a doubt my favorite festival and receiving the Golden Lion is a huge honor,” responded George Clooney, quoted in the same press release.
“It probably also means I’m getting older, but that’s fine,” the actor quipped.
