Venice Opening: George Clooney & Maggie Gyllenhaal Talk Unifying Power Of Cinema In Divisive Times: “Always Connect!”

The Venice Film Festival kicked off on a defiantly humanist note on Wednesday with speeches from Life Achievement Awardee George Clooney and jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal championing the power of cinema as a unifier in divisive times. Praising the festival as an extraordinary meeting place, Clooney used his award speech to stress the need for…