Thursday night at the Venice Film Festival, Adam Driver and Michael Mann officially kicked off awards season with the world premiere of the racing drama “Ferrari”.

The packed Sala Grande Theater gave Driver and Mann a six-minute standing ovation, Variety reported. Driver struggled to hold back tears, with Mann helping him to his feet to enjoy the applause.

“Ferrari” was one of the most anticipated Venice premieres and the premiere did not disappoint, finally bringing some star air to the island of Lido. Driver, who plays racing driver Enzo Ferrari in the film, approached a crowd of screaming fans, signing a few autographs. His fans queued for hours in the Italian sun to catch a glimpse of the actor known for his role as Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars’.

While Venice usually stars glitz and top-notch talent, this year’s festival lost a number of huge stars — including Zendaya, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender — due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Even Penélope Cruz, who plays Laura Ferrari in Mann’s film, decided to skip Venice, so as not to appear to have crossed the strike line. The cast of “Ferrari” is allowed to hold a press conference since it’s an independent film from distributor Neon, but Driver was the only big star in attendance.

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