10/09/2016 - VENICE 2016: The majority of the prizewinners are actors and directors from across the pond, who divided the jury chaired by Sam Mendes

Filipino director Lav Diaz earned himself a very well-deserved Golden Lion for The Woman Who Left, as the curtain fell on the 73^rd edition of the Venice Film Festival, amidst tightened security provided by the anti-terrorism forces. Diaz dedicated his win to the “struggle of the Filipino people and the struggle of humankind”. The Woman Who Left, a 226-minute film about a woman who spent 30 years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit, comes just a few months after the eight-hour A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, which was presented at the Berlinale in February this year.

“All films are equal, but some are more equal than others,” jury chair Sam Mendes quipped, referring to the difficulties the jury faced in deciding on the awards. But there surely cannot have been any disagreements in deciding to hand the Grand Jury Prize to the refined Nocturnal Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a decision for which a thrilled Tom Ford seemed extremely thankful (“It’s a dream come true”). However, there will have been some debate before the jury chose to award Best Director ex-aequo to the shocking The Untamed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by young Mexican director Amat Escalante – which divided critics and audiences at the festival, owing to its alien that dispenses sexual pleasure – and the much more “classical” Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Russian master Andrei Konchalovsky. Another decision that may very well have split the jury is the Special Jury Prize awarded to the polemic title The Bad Batch by Ana Lily Amirpour, a move that is sure to spark controversy.

The Americas also split the Volpi Cups for Best Actor and Actress; the former went to Óscar Martínez for the Argentinian movie The Distinguished Citizen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while the latter went to US actress Emma Stone for the spectacularly entertaining La La Land. Noah Oppenheim, who won the Best Screenplay Award for the stunning biopic Jackie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], thanked the producer, Darren Aronofsky, Natalie Portman, “the only person who could have played Jacqueline Kennedy”, and director Pablo Larraín, “a true genius”. But Europe got a look in with Paula Beer, the young German actress who snagged the Marcello Mastroianni Prize for Best New Actor/Actress for Frantz [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: François Ozon
film profile] by François Ozon.

Meanwhile, the Orizzonti section saw victory for the singular and striking documentary on exorcism, Liberami [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Federica Di Giacomo, and Best Director went to young Belgian director Fien Troch for Home [+see also:
film review
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interview: Fien Troch
film profile], her fourth film, which delves into the world of teenagers. A Special Jury Prize went to the Turkish film Big Big World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Reha Erdem
film profile] by Reha Erdem, while the actors awarded in this section were Portugal’s Nuno Lopes for the compelling Saint George [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Martins
film profile] and Spaniard Ruth Díaz for The Fury of a Patient Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Raúl Arévalo
film profile].

Here is the complete list of winners at the 73^rd Venice Film Festival:

Golden Lion
The Woman Who Left - Lav Diaz (Philippines)

Grand Jury Prize
Nocturnal Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Tom Ford (US/UK)

Silver Lion for Best Director (ex aequo)
Amat Escalante - The Untamed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Mexico/Denmark/France/Germany/Norway/Switzerland)
Andrei Konchalovsky - Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Russia/Germany)

Special Jury Prize
The Bad Batch - Ana Lily Amirpour (US)

Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Óscar Martínez - The Distinguished Citizen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Argentina/Spain)

Volpi Cup for Best Actress
Emma Stone - La La Land (US)

Marcello Mastroianni Prize for Best New Actor/Actress
Paula Beer - Frantz [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile] (France/Germany)

Award for Best Screenplay
Noah Oppenheim - Jackie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (US/UK/Chile/France)

Lion of the Future - Laurentiis Prize for a First Film
The Last of Us - Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia/Qatar/UAE/Lebanon)

Orizzonti

Best Film
Liberami [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Federica Di Giacomo (Italy/France)

Best Director
Fien Troch - Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fien Troch
film profile] (Belgium)

Special Jury Prize
Big Big World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Reha Erdem
film profile] - Reha Erdem (Turkey)

Best Actress
Ruth Díaz - The Fury of a Patient Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Raúl Arévalo
film profile] (Spain)

Best Actor
Nuno Lopes - Saint George [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Martins
film profile] (Portugal/France)

Best Screenplay
Wang Bing - Bitter Money [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Hong Kong/France)

Best Short Film
La voz perdida - Marcelo Martinessi (Paraguay)

Venice Classics

Best Restored Film
Break Up - L'uomo dei cinque palloni - Marco Ferreri (Italy/France)

Best Documentary on Cinema
The Graduation [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] - Claire Simon (France)

(Translated from Italian)