You might consider it bad form – even rude – to gatecrash your second film festival in a year.
But that didn’t stop actor Kevin Spacey, who is working hard to rehabilitate himself with the movie industry after facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct – despite very few signs that Hollywood wants him back.
Three months after a couple of puzzling appearances in Cannes, he showed up during the Venice Film Festival, which is the oldest and arguably the most glamourous in the world, on Friday, to launch himself once more.
Spacey, who is 66, presented a trailer for his low-budget sci-fi thriller Holiguard Saga – Portal of Force, at the Spacey event, which took place at the 5-star Hotel Cipriani – one of the best and most famous hotels in Venice.
Spokesman for the festival are categorical that the event, which falls outside the aegis of the festival and has ‘nothing’ to do with them.
The movie is his first as a director in 21 years and apparently, he hopes that it will launch a franchise.
Kevin Spacey attended the Venice Film Festival on Friday with his directorial comeback – two years after he was cleared of a series of criminal charges (pictured at Cannes Film Festival in May 2025)
Shot last year in Mexico it stars Spacey plus one-time beefcake action hero Dolph Lundgren, who is 67, and B-movie stalwart Eric Roberts, brother of the A-lister Julia, who has struggled with drug addiction.
The event is being underwritten by the Elledgy Media Group, with its founder Elvira Paterson-Gavrilova saying: ‘This project was both a challenge and an inspiration for us.
‘It is a story about choice, strength, and inner conflict, told through the language of cinema.
‘As a producer, it was important for me to support an ambitious production that is not afraid to be new, complex, and honest. The entire film crew is proud that we are bringing this vision to life step by step.’
However, the project looks unlikely to save his reputation as the film was written by and also stars a man who is wanted by U.S. authorities for being part of an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
The writer of the film, who is also its producer and appears in it is Vladimir ‘Lado’ Okhotnikov, a Russian national who was indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2023.
Okhotnikov co-wrote the feature, which is based on his ideas, and is also listed as one of the producers via his company, Lado film.
His legal issues centre around the cryptocurrency investment portal Forsage.
The movie is his first as a director in 21 years and apparently, he hopes that it will launch a franchise (pictured in Milan June 2025)
The Department of Justice say that it was a ‘Ponzi and pyramid investment scheme that took in approximately $340 million from victim-investors around the world.’
If convicted – and he denies the charges – he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Okhotinov has remained outside US jurisdiction and has not been arrested.
In an email to the industry Bible Variety, he said that accusations against him were ‘unfounded,’ and claimed that ‘no evidence had ever been presented’ against him and ‘no court rulings have been issued.’
He added that the ‘mere publications of an indictments, made by SEC and DOJ, were reported in headlines as though guilt had already been established.’
Okhotnikov said that ‘no further action’ has been taken by U.S. authorities in the almost three years since.
‘The only development was the publication of the indictment itself, which spread across hundreds of outlets — often with misleading headlines,’ he added, claiming that it had cause him ‘harm [that] went beyond reputation.’
‘The Portal of Force,’ which has a budget of around $10 million,’ is set against the backdrop of a near-future world fractured by hidden supernatural forces, where two ancient warrior factions wage a secret war for control of humanity’s fate.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor defiantly vowed not to give up on acting after being in ‘exile’ for seven years (Spacey pictured in Los Angeles in 1996 after winning best supporting actor for his role in The Usual Suspects)
Ellegdy Media Group, which is the lead producer and main financier of ‘The Portal of Force,’ say that Okhotnikov made no investment in the film and explain instead that his producer credit was given for allowing the production to use his studio and post-production facilities in Dubai, where he lives.
The ‘gala dinner’ for the film is the latest effort by Spacey to reclaim his reputation and standing.
He attended the Amfar charity gala – where tickets are for sale – and was also given ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at a gala dinner given by the Better World organisation.
The dinner was at the beach club at the Carlton Hotel and not an official festival event.
The Better World Fun was set up by American entrepreneur Ted Turner, who was previously married to Jane Fonda.
In his acceptance speech, Spacey thanked Better World Fund president Manuel Collas de La Roche.
‘I’d like to congratulate him for the decision to invite me here tonight to accept this award,’ he said. ‘Who would have ever thought that honouring someone who has been exonerated in every courtroom he’s ever walked into would be thought of as a brave idea? But here we are.’
In 2022, Spacey was found not liable in a sexual abuse civil lawsuit in New York.
The following year he was cleared of sexually assaulting four men after a month-long trial at London’s Southwark crown court.
At the gala dinner, he compares his ordeal to that of the postwar Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy anti-communist era, and noted that the actor Kirk Douglas was one of the few stars who publicly supported Trumbo.
‘We have to think about the pushback that [Douglas] received after he made the brave decision to stand up for fellow colleague, two-time Oscar winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo,’ he says. ‘[Douglas] said this: ‘It’s easier for us actors to play the heroes on screen. We get to fight the bad guys and stand up for justice. But in real life, the choices are not always so clear.’ There are times when one has to stand up for principle. I’ve learned a lot from history. It often repeats itself … but only if we allow it to.’
Spacey has battled to save his name, liberty and fortune after the sex scandal which engulfed him in 2017.
The star has lost his houses and his money after a series of legal battles, and was essentially cancelled by Hollywood following allegations by the actor Anthony Rapp that Spacey had acted improperly at a party in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26.
This was followed by allegations of ‘handsy’ behaviour and sexual assault on the set of the Netflix hit series House of Cards, in which he starred.
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Further sex abuse claim is lodged against Kevin Spacey after actor was cleared on series of charges
Spacey has denied everything, but at the time he apologised to Rapp and his representatives said that he was ‘taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment’.
Two years ago, he was acquitted in a UK court of nine charges of assault relating to his time in charge of the Old Vic. But legal actions grind on in the US.
Recently, the Oscar-winning actor joined forces in a $150 million legal battle against insurers of the hit Netflix series House of Cards in an apparent bid to stave off personal bankruptcy.
MRC, makers of the show, had previously successfully sued Spacey for $30 million, saying that his conduct on the show led to him being suspended, which had cost them a fortune.
But they agreed to take just $1 million for Spacey in return for him joining the battle with them.
They are now suing insurers for a payout on the grounds that the former star was ill with ‘compulsive sexual behaviour disorder’ in 2017 and hence had to leave the programme.
However, now it can be revealed that the insurers have applied to have the whole lawsuit junked, saying essentially that Spacey and MRC can’t possibly make the argument both ways – either he was too sick to appear, or he was suspended due to the scandal.