Venice, 3 September 2026 (dpa/MIA) - George Clooney received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement as the 83rd Venice Film Festival opened Wednesday, using his acceptance speech to defend the power of storytelling and warn against fear and authoritarianism.

The 65-year-old US actor was presented with the award by fellow actor and friend Laura Dern, who praised him as a filmmaker and activist and relayed a message from Brad Pitt joking that Clooney ages as gracefully as an old Gouda but should be kept off the dance floor.

Taking to the stage, Clooney joked about receiving a lifetime achievement award.

"When they tell you that you're going to be getting a Lifetime Achievement Award, there are really only two things that come to mind," he said. "The first is what an incredible honour this is, and then the second is, do they know something that I don't?"

Clooney stressed the unifying power of films, saying they foster empathy and challenge fear and authoritarian thinking.

"Stories are always dangerous to people who peddle in fear. The people who are afraid of books and music and stories, they're never the heroes in history."

"So yes, movies don't stop wars. They don't lower inflation. They don't fix elections. But they do do something remarkable. They remind us that a stranger is never a stranger and that he might just be the hero in somebody else's story."

"And if we can still sit together in the dark and care about people that we have never met, I think maybe we'll be okay," he added.