The Oscar-winning actor used his Golden Lion acceptance speech to defend journalism, art and storytelling, saying films can remind audiences of their shared humanity.
WEBDESK - NAYADAUR - Imran Malik
VENICE, Italy — George Clooney used the spotlight of the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday to deliver a pointed warning about fear, authoritarianism and the growing pressure on artists and journalists, as he accepted the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Clooney, 65, received the career honor during the opening ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 2 to 12. The award recognizes his decades-long career as an actor, director and producer.
But rather than focus solely on his career, Clooney turned his acceptance speech toward the political and social power of storytelling.
“We're living through a moment in time where people in charge, the people with the most money, are telling us to fear one another,” Clooney said, according to reports from the ceremony.
He argued that history repeatedly shows the dangers of attempts to silence those who challenge powerful institutions.
“The first people that authoritarians tried to shut down are not politicians,” Clooney said, referring to journalists, filmmakers, writers, actors and musicians who question conventional narratives.
He described stories as particularly threatening to those who rely on fear and division, saying people who fear books, music and stories are not remembered as the heroes of history.
For Clooney, cinema's value lies less in its ability to directly change political events than in its capacity to build empathy.
He said movies do not stop wars, lower inflation or fix elections, but can remind audiences that people they regard as strangers may be the heroes of someone else's story.
The actor's remarks came as Venice opened a festival featuring an unusually strong focus on politics, journalism and contemporary global crises. The opening film, Danny Boyle's “Ink,” examines Rupert Murdoch's arrival in Britain's newspaper industry and his acquisition of The Sun, while other films address subjects including war, migration and political power.
Clooney has been a longtime presence at Venice, where several of his films have screened over the years. His connection to the festival also has a personal dimension: he and his wife, Amal Clooney, married in Venice in 2014.
The Golden Lion adds another major honor to a career spanning film, television and directing. Clooney has won two Academy Awards and has established himself as both a leading Hollywood actor and a filmmaker whose work frequently engages with political and social issues.
His Venice speech nevertheless placed the emphasis beyond his own career, making a broader case for the role of creative expression at a time of political division.
“Stories are always dangerous to people who peddle in fear,” Clooney said.
The message gave the opening night of Venice a distinctly political edge — and reinforced Clooney's longstanding view that cinema can serve as a bridge between people even when politics seeks to divide them.