The 83rd Venice International Film Festival has officially kicked off, with 21 films competing for the Golden Lion for Best Film.

The international jury for the competition is chaired by U.S. actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal, with director Johnnie To from China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region among its members. At the opening ceremony, U.S. actor, director and producer George Clooney received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The world premiere of Levan Koguashvili’s new feature film “Guria” will screen on September 9 in the Venice Spotlight section, which features a highly selective lineup of just 8 films this year.

“Guria” is a tragicomedy about love and friendship set in the impoverished yet gifted and deeply humane region of Guria in western Georgia in the early 1990s. Despite power shortages, poverty and rampant crime, people continue to fall in love, quarrel, build friendships, sing from time to time and dream. Life goes on and will continue to do so as long as people preserve their humanity. The film was produced with financial backing from the Ministry of Culture of Georgia, the National Film Centre, Creative Georgia, the Georgian Public Broadcaster, and the Enterprise Georgia agency. “Guria” is an international co-production involving seven countries: Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Norway, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

The festival, which runs until Sept. 12, was first held in 1932. Alongside the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, it is regarded as one of Europe's three major film festivals.