Casey Affleck's new film Company received a four-and-a-half-minute standing ovation at its world premiere in Venice's Sala Grande, though Affleck and the cast departed while the applause was still going. The horror-drama, which Affleck directed and co-wrote with Ron Hansen, marks his return to the festival and continues a run of high-profile Venice premieres this year. Star Nick Nolte drew particular enthusiasm from the audience, while Affleck's brother Ben was present to support him from the audience.

The film weaves together interlinked stories across different eras, beginning in 1975 when a mysterious woman gatecrashes a holiday gathering and recounts a tale involving a 1953 Colorado blizzard and an older frontier story of a farming couple, a troubled drifter and a spate of murders. Affleck described it as a meditation on grief, vengeance and forgiveness rather than an overtly political work, though he acknowledged being influenced by global conflicts. The cast includes Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens, Scoot McNairy and Affleck's own children, Atticus and Indiana; it is his first directorial effort since 2019's Light of My Life.