Venice Film Festival offers grit, glamour and George Clooney

Venice — The Venice Film Festival is kicking off the fall cinema season with searing drama, serious glamour and a crop of new movies vying for attention, awards and acclaim.

The world's oldest cinema festival is a key showcase for films hoping to dominate Hollywood's awards season. In recent years, Venice has been a launch-pad for Oscar winners including Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.

This year's edition opens with Alexander Payne's Downsizing, a science fiction-tinged drama starring Matt Damon as a man who hopes to minimize his problems by shrinking himself.

Other films competing for the festival's Golden Lion prize include George Clooney-directed heist movie Suburbicon; Guillermo del Toro's fantastical The Shape of Water and Darren Aronofsky's secrecy-shrouded thriller Mother!

The 74th Venice Film Festival runs from 30 August to 9 September.