Julia Roberts Makes her Venice Debut with “After the Hunt”, Luca Guadagnino’s Latest Thriller
“After the Hunt” (Dopo la caccia), Luca Guadagnino’s latest movie, premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29th. This feature film confirms the director’s penchant for navigating the edge of drama and thriller, weaving together academic dynamics, ethical quandaries, and personal secrets poised to be revealed. On the Lido’s red carpet, all eyes were on Julia Roberts for her very first appearance at the Mostra. The Hollywood icon takes on a role of striking complexity. Alongside her, we met the rest of the cast, including Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Chloë Sévigny, Michael Stuhlbarg, and screenwriter Nora Garrett.
At the press conference, Roberts declared that she hoped that “After the Hunt” would spark discussion. Hardly surprising, given that the story touches on some of the most sensitive issues of our time. The protagonist, Alma, is a respected professor at a prestigious Ivy League university. Her ordered, seemingly unshakable life is thrown into turmoil when a colleague is accused of harassing a student. Alma decides to defend him—a choice that not only jeopardises her career but also unsettles her very sense of self.
Guadagnino builds around her a claustrophobic, unsettling journey, where the university classroom becomes an arena of moral conflict, and the walls of academia reveal fragility, compromise, and ambiguity. With “After the Hunt”, the director probes the fragile balance between professional responsibility and personal vulnerability, portraying a woman confronting the darkest corners of truth.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photos: Ludovica Arcero
