There’s been a surprise outcome following the awards ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival, held this evening on the Lido. The Golden Lion for Best Film went to Father Mother Sister Brother [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jim Jarmusch
fiche film] by Jim Jarmusch, thus proving all of the previous predictions wrong. At an edition marked by initiatives, calls to action and demonstrations of solidarity for the Palestinian people (see the news), the jury chaired by the USA’s Alexander Payne, and made up of Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao, opted to hand the Mostra’s top prize to the film by the US director, which revolves around the family along with all of its bizarre dynamics.

The undisputed moral victor of this edition, The Voice of Hind Rajab [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kaouther Ben Hania
fiche film] by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania, which deeply moved audience members and critics alike on the Lido and received a standing ovation that lasted more than 20 minutes after its official premiere in the Sala Grande, picked up the second-most-important prize, the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize. The film reconstructs the final, desperate call made by a six-year-old girl trapped in a car struck by the Israeli army in Gaza.

Other unexpected winners included the film that snagged the Best Director Award, The Smashing Machine by Benny Safdie, a movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as wrestler and mixed-martial-arts legend Mark Kerr; and the winner of the Special Jury Prize, Gianfranco Rosi’s Below the Clouds [+lire aussi :
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interview : Gianfranco Rosi
fiche film], a black-and-white documentary dedicated to Naples. Awarded Best Screenplay was At Work [+lire aussi :
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interview : Valérie Donzelli
fiche film] by Valérie Donzelli, one of the most popular titles this year, which is a deep dive into the vocation of an author who gives up everything to follow his passion (with a script co-written by Gilles Marchand).

As for the acting categories, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress went to China’s Xin Zhilei for The Sun Rises on Us All. Meanwhile, the equivalent gong for Best Actor went to Toni Servillo, who played the president of the republic for Paolo Sorrentino in La grazia [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], the opening film of the 82nd edition of the gathering. The actor, who was thrilled to receive the statuette from Fernanda Torres (“an actress who bewitched me this year”), expressed “my utter admiration for those who have decided to bravely set sail for Palestine to bring a shred of humanity to a place where human dignity is reviled on a daily basis”. The Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent was bestowed upon Luna Wedler for Silent Friend [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Hungarian helmer Ildiko Enyedi, the last title presented in competition, which was actually among the favourites.

The Armani Beauty Audience Award in the Venezia Spotlight section was handed to Calle Málaga [+lire aussi :
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interview : Maryam Touzani
fiche film] by Maryam Touzani, starring Carmen Maura as a 79-year-old whose life is turned upside down when her daughter arrives from Madrid in order to sell the Tangier flat she has always lived in.

On the other hand, the international jury for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film, chaired by Scottish director Charlotte Wells, chose to grant its prize to Short Summer [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nastia Korkia
fiche film] by director of Russian heritage Nastia Korkia (in competition in the Giornate degli Autori), which reminds viewers of the 1,291 days since the invasion of Ukraine.

As for Orizzonti, the jury, chaired by France’s Julia Ducournau, handed the Award for Best Film to On the Road by David Pablos, a queer story set in the hostile and violent milieu of Mexican lorry drivers. The Best Director Award was bestowed upon Anuparna Roy for the Indian title Songs of Forgotten Trees, about the friendship between two very distant women, while the Orizzonti Special Jury Prize was granted to Lost Land [+lire aussi :
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The best actress in the Orizzonti section was deemed to be Benedetta Porcaroli in The Kidnapping of Arabella [+lire aussi :
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interview : Carolina Cavalli
fiche film], the eccentric dramedy by Carolina Cavalli; Porcaroli, performing in her second film directed by Cavalli (after Amanda [+lire aussi :
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interview : Benedetta Porcaroli
fiche film], which screened at Venice in 2022), thanked the director for having given her “the opportunity to get to know characters that seem to be flawed or abandoned, but then are revealed to be human, fragile and brimming with compassion”. The Best Actor Award was presented to Giacomo Covi for his role in A Year of School [+lire aussi :
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interview : Laura Samani
fiche film] by Laura Samani. Last but not least, Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán took home the Best Screenplay Award for The Ivy [+lire aussi :
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Here is the full list of award winners:

Competition

Golden Lion for Best Film
Father Mother Sister Brother [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jim Jarmusch
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Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize
The Voice of Hind Rajab [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kaouther Ben Hania
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Silver Lion - Award for Best Director
Benny Safdie - The Smashing Machine (USA)

Special Jury Prize
Below the Clouds [+lire aussi :
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interview : Gianfranco Rosi
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Volpi Cup for Best Actress
Xin Zhilei - The Sun Rises on Us All (China)

Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Toni Servillo - La Grazia [+lire aussi :
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Award for Best Screenplay
Valérie Donzelli, Gilles Marchand - At Work [+lire aussi :
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interview : Valérie Donzelli
fiche film] (France)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent
Luna Wedler - Silent Friend [+lire aussi :
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Orizzonti

Best Film
On the Road - David Pablos (Mexico)

Best Director
Anuparna Roy - Songs of Forgotten Trees (India)

Special Jury Prize
Lost Land [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Akio Fujimoto (Japan/France/Malaysia/Germany)

Best Actress
Benedetta Porcaroli - The Kidnapping of Arabella [+lire aussi :
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interview : Carolina Cavalli
fiche film] (Italy)

Best Actor
Giacomo Covi - A Year of School [+lire aussi :
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interview : Laura Samani
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Best Screenplay
Ana Cristina Barragán - The Ivy [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Ecuador/Mexico/France/Spain)

Best Short Film
Without Kelly - Lovisa Sirén (Sweden)

Venezia Spotlight

Audience Award
Calle Málaga [+lire aussi :
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interview : Maryam Touzani
fiche film] - Maryam Touzani (Morocco/France/Spain/Germany/Belgium)

Venice Classics

Best Documentary on Cinema
Mata Hari - Joe Beshenkovsky, James A. Smith (Stati Uniti)

Best Restored Film
Bashu, the Little Stranger - Bahram Beyzaie (Iran) (1989)

Venice Immersive

Grand Prize
The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up - Singing Chen (Taiwan/Germany)

Special Jury Prize
Less Than 5gr of Saffron - Négar Motevalymeidanshah (France)

Achievement Prize
A Long Goodbye - Kate Voet, Victor Maes (Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands)

Non-section-specific award

Lion of the Future - "Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film
Short Summer [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nastia Korkia
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