The 2025 edition of the world’s oldest film festival kicked off with a poignant moment of movie history Wednesday night as American film legend Francis Ford Coppola took the stage inside Venice’s Sala Grande cinema to present German uber-auteur Werner Herzog with an honorary Golden Lion , the event’s highest honor for lifetime achievement.

The two cinema legends — Coppola is also a Venice film festival Golden Lion honoree from 1992 — adorably walked hand in hand down the red carpet to the openingnight ceremony.

Herzog’s moment in the Venice spotlight got underway with a video tribute to his gloriously eccentric filmography, spanning Fitzcarraldo ; Grizzly Man ; Aguirre, the Wrath of God ; My Best Fiend ; and so many more.

The 2025 edition of the world’s oldest film festival

See Full Page