The actress and author Emanuela Fanelli, one of the most original and innovative performers in Italian cinema and television, will host the opening and closing nights of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia (27 August – 6 September 2025).
Emanuela Fanelli will lead the inauguration ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival on the night of Wednesday 27 August on the stage of Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido), as well as the closing ceremony to be held on Saturday 6 September, when the winners of the Lions and the other official prizes of the 82nd Venice Film Festival will be announced.
A profound and versatile actress, Emanuela Fanelli moves effortlessly from comedy to drama, remaining perfectly consistent in her expressivity. Her work is appreciated not only for her acting talent, but also for her ability to capture the ironies and contradictions of the present time through her own deep and personal perspective. She writes her own monologues.
Biographical notes
Since her film debut in Non essere cattivo (Don’t Be Bad) by Claudio Caligari in 2015, Emanuela Fanelli (Rome, 6 July1986) has appeared in films such as Gli ultimi saranno ultimi (The Last will be the Last), Assolo, Beata ignoranza, A mano disarmata. She gained early recognition among television audiences through the series Dov’è Mario?, in which she starred with Corrado Guzzanti, who wrote the series together with Mattia Torre, and as the co-host of the programme Una pezza di Lundini, in which she displayed a talent for highly original and surreal comedy, becoming a defining voice for a new generation of viewers.
Over the years, she participated in programmes such as La TV delle ragazze – Gli Stati Generali, Battute? and hit series such as Call My Agent – Italia and No Activity – Niente da segnalare. Her break in cinema came with the film Siccità by Paolo Virzì, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In it she starred as Raffaella, a role that won her the 2023 David di Donatello as Best Supporting Actress, on her first nomination. The following year she won a second David di Donatello, on her second nomination, for her performance in Paola Cortellesi’s directorial debut C’è ancora domani (There’s still Tomorrow), in which she played Marisa, an intense role that confirmed her remarkable gift for bringing genuine and complex female characters to life. In 2024, she was again directed by Paolo Virzì in the sequel to the historic film Ferie d’agosto, Un altro ferragosto.
Since 2016, she has been a regular guest of Lillo e Greg’s radio show 610 on Rai Radio 2.
At the end of 2019, she starred in the videoclip Immigrato, a piece by Checco Zalone made for the release in theatres of his box office hit Tolo Tolo. She has won a series of acknowledgments since the early days of her career, including a special mention as Best Actress and Best Monologue at the Ciak, si Roma! festival (on the jury Carlo Verdone, Daniele Luchetti and Lina Wertmüller) and an award as Best Actress in the 48h Film Project, for her role in the short Un film d’amore.
She hosted the 2021 Torino Film Festival and was the narrating voice in the documentary I magnifici quattro della risata (Benigni, Nuti, Verdone, Troisi) presented at the Rome Film Fest 2022.
In 2024, she won the Manfredi Prize at the Nast