Venice festival to honor George Clooney with Golden Lion

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The Venice Film Festival will present George Clooney with the 2026 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, recognizing his work as an actor, director and producer and citing a rare range across genres from war films to comedies and science fiction. The Biennale praised his six-category Oscar nominations and named several films he directed as ambitious and outside Hollywood conventions, while festival head Alberto Barbera and Clooney both commented on the honor. Clooney's past awards include Oscars for Syriana and for producing Argo, and a 2025 Tony nomination; the 83rd Venice edition runs Sept. 2-12 with the lineup announced July 23.

Venice will award Clooney the 2026 Golden Lion