Actor Julia Roberts got emotional as her new film, After the Hunt, received a six-minute standing ovation at the ongoing Venice Film Festival on Lido Island. After The Hunt has been directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Julia Roberts gets teary-eyed as After the Hunt gets standing ovation

In a video, Julia was seen wiping away her tears as the audience clapped. Julia also blew kisses to the crowd and hugged the movie’s director, Luca Guadagnino and co-stars Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield.

In another clip, an emotional Luca rested his head on Julia’s shoulder as she held him. He also kissed her hand and bowed to the audience. Before the premier of the film, Luca and Julia signed autographs on the red carpet. Andrew also took selfies with the crowd.

About After the Hunt

In After the Hunt, Julia plays Alma Olsson, a revered Ivy League professor who is forced to grapple with her own secretive past after one of her colleagues is accused of crossing a line with her student. Andrew plays Henrik ‘Hank’ Gibson, the colleague of Julia’s character, and Ayo plays Maggie Price, Alma’s protege, who comes forward with the allegation.

After the Hunt row

The film has already sparked controversy on the Lido, with a heated press conference held earlier on Friday, where questions were raised about the film’s messaging regarding the #MeToo movement and cancel culture. Julia defended her latest work, denying that After the Hunt is attempting to stoke controversy and lamenting that society is ‘losing the art of conversation in humanity right now.’

“We’re not making statements; we are portraying these people in this moment in time. I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have a conversation. To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you. If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing that I think we could accomplish,” said Julia Roberts as quoted by Variety.

More about After the Hunt

After the Hunt also stars Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny in supporting roles. The script was penned by Nora Garrett in her feature screenwriting debut.