Venice Film Festival 2023 Photos: The Red Carpet Premieres & Closing Ceremony Winners

The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival concludes today with the Closing Ceremony and presentation of the winners of the Lions. Director Yorgos Lanthimos took home the coveted Golden Lion for his film Poor Things, while Cailee Spaeny was honored as Best Actress for her performance in Priscilla, and Peter Sarsgaard received the Best Actor award for Memory.

The ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes cast uncertainty on the presence of celebrities gracing the iconic event over the course of the 10-day fest, with guild members participating in or promoting premieres doing so only under SAG-AFTRA interim agreements allowing them to make appearances and engage on the festival’s revered red carpet.

Related: Venice Film Festival: Yorgos Lanthimos Wins Golden Lion With ‘Poor Things’ — Full List

Edoardo De Angelis’s drama Comandante opened the festival with other highlight premieres from this year’s slate including Michael Mann’s Ferrari starring Adam Driver and Patrick Dempsey; Luc Besson’s film Dogman with Caleb Landry Jones and Jonica T. Gibbs; Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen; Yorgos Lanthimos Poor Things with Emma Stone; Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft; Leonard Berstein biopic, Maestro, starring and directed by Bradley Cooper; David Fincher’s film The Killer; Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi; Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, starring Glen Powell and Jack Huston presented his directorial debut, The Day of the Fight, starring Michael Pitt, Joe Pesci, Ron Perlman, and John Magaro & Michel Franco’s Memory, starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard

Related: Venice Film Festival 2023: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

Ava DuVernay made history as the first African American woman to present a film in competition at the Venice Film Festival. She was joined on the red carpet at the premiere of Origin by Spencer Averick, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Paul Garnes, Suraj Yengde, and Matthew J. Lloyd. The chronicles the remarkable life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson as she investigates the genesis of injustice and uncovers a hidden truth that affects us all.

Director Ang Lee presented the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement to Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Tony Leung Chiu-wai has appeared in three films that have won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival: A City of Sadness (1989) directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Cyclo (1995) directed by Tran Anh Hung, and Lust, Caution (2007) directed by Ang Lee.

Related: Venice Film Festival at 80: Memorable Moments & Stars 1932-2023 Photo Gallery

On Friday, September 3rd, Wes Anderson received the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award in recognition of his distinctive and innovative contributions to the modern film landscape. The award ceremony was followed by an Out of Competition screening of his latest short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which boasts a star-studded ensemble cast including Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade

Click through the gallery to see all the atmosphere from the red carpet and more. You can catch up on all the news, reviews, interviews, trailers, videos and more from Venice 2023 by clicking here.