Venice Film Festival opens amid Hollywood actors’ strike

VENICE, ITALY - AUGUST 30: The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival – the world’s oldest – kicked off on Wednesday amid the writers’ and actors’ strike in Hollywood. Due to the restrictions for unions’ members, there will not be as many Hollywood stars gracing Venice Lido red carpet this year, but most of the festival’s program emerged unscathed. The festival was due to start with Challengers, a tennis romance with one of the biggest stars of her generation, Zendaya. Due to the strike, it now opens with Italian movie Comandante, featuring prize-winning actor Pierfrancesco Favino, based on the true story of Italian submarine commander Salvatore Todaro and the events that occurred in October 1940, when Todaro was in command of the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini. Despite the unions’ protests – primarily over pay and the threat of artificial intelligence – a few Hollywood stars confirmed their presence in Venice, including Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain, Caleb Landry Jones, and Mads Mikkelsen. (Footage by Marco Alvarez Sanroman /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)