Find out who received the Golden Lion and other major film awards at one of the most prestigious events for cinema.
The Venice Film Festival, which began on August 28, came to a close last Saturday with the awarding of some of the most impressive works presented at the event.
French actress Isabelle Huppert served as Jury President for the main competition. Also joining her were filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz, and actress Zhang Ziyi.
Earlier in the festival, Australian filmmaker Peter Weir and American actress Sigourney Weaver received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Weir is known for directing films such as The Truman Show and Dead Poets Society while Weaver is an icon in the science fiction and horror genres.
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Main Competition
Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door received the top prize at the Venice Film Festival—the Golden Lion. The film, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, is Almodóvar’s English-language debut.
After its premiere, the film also received the longest standing ovation at this year’s festival, clocking in at 17 minutes.
The Room Next Door is based on the Sigrid Nunez novel What Are You Going Through. It follows Ingrid and Martha, once good friends in their youth but later separated when they followed different paths in life. The two later meet again, after years of being out of touch.
Vermiglio by Maura Delpero and April by Dea Kulumbegashvili received the Grand Jury Prize and Special Jury Prize respectively, which are considered the second then third biggest film awards at the festival.
Nicole Kidman won the Best Actress prize for her role in Babygirl. Unfortunately, the actress was unable to attend the ceremony due to the untimely passing of her mother.
“I arrived in Venice and found out shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,” Kidman wrote in a statement which the film’s director Halina Reijn read out loud.
“I’m in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her…She shaped me and made me.”
The Best Actor award then went to Vincent Lindon for The Quiet Son. Helmed by directing duo Delphine and Muriel Coulin, the story follows a father and son separated by political ideology.
American filmmaker Brady Corbet received the Silver Lion for Best Direction for his post-war epic The Brutalist.
More Highlights
The Romanian tragicomedy The New Year That Never Came by Bogdan Mureșanu received the Orizzonti (Horizons) award for Best Film. Meanwhile, Sarah Friedland won Best Director for Familiar Touch.
The Venice Film Festival closed with the world premiere of Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 which played out of competition.
Other high profile movies at the festival include Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Pablo Larraín’s Maria starring Angelina Jolie, and Luca Guadagnino’s Queer with Daniel Craig.
“I have good news for you,” Huppert said at the awarding ceremony. “Cinema is in great shape.”
Banner image by Harald Krichel via Wikimedia Commons.
