Venice welcomes Julia Roberts, George Clooney to film fest

The Venice Film Festival kicks off this week, rolling out the red carpet for Julia Roberts and George Clooney in a flurry of worldwide premieres at the glitzy celebration on the sandy Lido.

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A cavalcade of cinema A-listers will arrive by water taxi to Venice’s seaside resort for the festival beginning Wednesday, from Jude Law to Emma Stone, drawing hundreds of fans hoping for a glimpse of their favorite stars.

Among the acclaimed directors at the festival’s 82nd edition are Werner Herzog, Jim Jarmusch, Kathryn Bigelow, Gus Van Sant and Park Chan-wook, who returns to the festival after 20 years.

Venice, a highlight of the international film circuit, serves up both big budget films with box-office potential — such as Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as an ageing wrestler — and smaller independent works.

Despite the glamorous backdrop, some of the films lined up which are more focused on current events are likely to provoke debate. As the war in Ukraine goes on, Law portrays Russian President Vladimir Putin during hi ascent to power in Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin.”