The 81st Venice Film Festival opened with the attendance of numerous worldwide stars, including Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt, as well as Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas, and George Clooney. 21 films in competition, including 5 Italians, for a total of 83 in the various sections under Pietrangelo Buttafuoco's "first time" as Biennale president. A writer who understands how literature frequently influences cinema. "The Venice Film Festival is unique in the world, with a high reputation, because the Biennale promotes dialogue with other artists. And cinema is both an art form and an industrial product. There are 6,350 seats in the hall. While a new location, the Match Point Arena, opened this year at the Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido, will host masterclasses with, among others, Pupi Avati, Richard Gere, and Lifetime Achievement Lions Sigourney Weaver and Peter Weir. The artistic director will remain Alberto Barbera, who has been confirmed for his undeniable capacity to weave links with Hollywood, making the Lido the springboard for numerous Oscars in recent years. The 2023 Golden Lion winner, "Poor Creatures!" by Yorgos Lanthimos, received four heavy statuettes. One of the benefits of Barbera's management is that ticket sales for the Festival are increasing. Total theater admissions in 2023 were 230 thousand (+17% over 2022), tickets sold to the public were approximately 85 thousand (75 thousand in 2022, +14%), accreditations revoked 13,023 (11,967 in 2022, +9%), of which 3 thousand journalists.