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2023 Venice Film Festival: “Poor Things” Starring Emma Stone Wins Golden Lion

Lisa Green — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 06:12:00 +0000

Some of the year’s most anticipated films premiered at the Venice Film Festival, but only one could walk away with the Golden Lion. That honor was bestowed upon Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos’ surrealist black comedy starring the Oscar winner Emma Stone.

The competition for the festival’s most prestigious award was as strong as it gets, and it included David Fincher’s The Killer, Sofia Copolla’s Priscilla, and Michael Mann’s Ferrari, among other acclaimed projects. Lanthimos eventually took the Golden Lion home following the enormous success of Poor Things and dedicated this victory to the leading lady, Emma Stone.

Poor Things stars Stone as a young woman Bella, who tries to find her own path after being brought back to life by an eccentric scientist (Willem Dafoe). The film also stars Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael, Margaret Qualley, and Kathryn Hunter.

Poor Things wasn’t the only film to win big in Venice. The list of major award recipients also included Evil Does Not Exist (Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize) and Green Border (Special Jury Prize). Memory’s Peter Sarsgaard and Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny were awarded for their acting performances, while Matteo Garrone was named the best director for his work on Io Capitano.

The 80th Venice International Film Festival took place between August 30 and September 9, with the La La Land director Damien Chazelle presiding over the main competition jury.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS AT THE 2023 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:

Golden Lion
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos

Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Silver Lion Best Director
Matteo Garrone, Io Capitano

Special Jury Prize
Green Border, Agnieszka Holland

Best Screenplay
Pablo Larrain and Guillermo Calderón, El Conde

Best Actress
Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla

Best Actor
Peter Sarsgaard, Memory

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Seydou Sarr, Io Capitano

HORIZONS
Best Film
Explanation For Everything, Gábor Reisz

Best Director
Mika Gustafson, Paradise Is Burning

Special Jury Prize
Una Sterminata Domenica, Alain Parroni

Best Actress
Margarita Rosa De Francisco, El Paraiso

Best Actor
Tergel Bold-Erdene, City of Wind

Best Screenplay
El Paraiso, Enrico Maria Artale

Best Short Film
A Short Trip, Erenik Beqiri

Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film
Love Is A Gun, Lee Hong-Chi

HORIZONS EXTRA
Audience Award
FELICITÀ (HAPPINESS), Micaela Ramazzotti

VENICE CLASSICS

Best Documentary
Thank You Very Much, Alex Braverman

Best Restored Film
OHIKKOSHI (MOVING), Shinji Somai

VENICE IMMERSIVE

Grand Jury Prize
Songs For A Passerby, Celine Daemen

Special Jury Prize
Flow, Adriaan Lokman

Immersive Achievement Prize
Emperor, Marion Burger, Ilan Cohen

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Venice Film Festival to Go on as Scheduled

Ariel H — Thu, 28 May 2020 05:04:00 +0000

The Venice Film Festival is set to go ahead as scheduled from September 2-12.

The region’s governor Luca Zaia said the world’s longest-running film festival marks the first major film industry event that hasn’t been postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus. Earlier this month, Italy set out plans for restrictions to be lifted on travel and businesses including cinemas.

“We know that it would be simply impossible to plan a festival without knowing if you all are willing to use the Festival to give a new start and a strong sign for keeping cinema alive, even in these difficult times,” wrote Venice’s artistic director Alberto Barbera.

Zaia was quoted by local media as saying that there will be fewer films at the 77th edition due to global productions being halted. The lineup is usually announced in late July and Cate Blanchett is the president of the jury this year.

Sunday would have marked the end of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and organizers are hopeful that it will be live on in some way this summer, probably in Venice.

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Venice Film Festival: “Joker” Takes Home the Big Prize

Nikoleta P — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 05:28:40 +0000

Joker was on everyone’s lips at this year’s Venice Film Festival and impressed the critics with a daring new take on the iconic villain’s origin story. The jury was equally impressed by this comic book movie and rewarded it with the prestigious Golden Lion prize.

Director Todd Philips delivered an emotional speech after picking up his award, and thanked Warner Bros. and DC “for stepping out of their comfort zone and taking such a bold swing on me and this movie”. He also described the actor Joaquin Phoenix as “the fiercest and brightest and most open-minded lion” he knows and thanked him for trusting him with his “insane talent”.

Joker will make its way to the theaters on October 4th, and it will be shown at the festivals in Toronto and New York in the meantime. In addition to Phoenix, it also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Frances Conroy.

Full List of Winners at 2019 Venice Film Festival

Golden Lion
Joker; dir: Todd Phillips

Grand Jury Prize
An Officer And A Spy: dir: Roman Polanski

Silver Lion, Best Director
Roy Andersson; About Endlessness

Volpi Cup, Best Actress
Ariane Ascaride; Gloria Mundi

Volpi Cup, Best Actor
Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden

Best Screenplay
Yonfan; No. 7 Cherry Lane

Special Jury Prize
La Mafia Non E Più Quello Di Una Volta; dir: Franco Moresco

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Toby Wallace, Babyteeth

HORIZONS
Best Film
Atlantis; dir: Valentyn Vasyanovych

Best Director
Theo Court; Blanco En Blanco

Special Jury Prize
Verdict; dir: Raymund Ribay Guttierez

Best Actress
Marta Nieto; Madre

Best Actor
Sami Bouajila; A Son

Best Screenplay
Jessica Palud, Revenir

Best Short Film
Darling; dir: Saim Sadiq

LION OF THE FUTURE — LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM
You Will Die At 20; dir: Amjad Abu Alala

VENICE VIRTUAL REALITY
Best VR
The Key; dir: Céline Tricart

Best VR Experience
A Linha; dir: Ricardo Laganaro

Best VR Story
Daughters Of Chibok; dir: Joel Kachi Benson

VENICE CLASSICS
Best Documentary on Cinema
Babenco; dir: Barbara Paz

Best Restoration
Ecstasy; Gustav Machaty

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Mexican Drama “Roma” Wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

Lisa Green — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 05:47:37 +0000

Mexican drama Roma received rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival and critics started predicting it will win the grand prize long before awards ceremony rolled around. It turned out they were right since Alfonso Cuarón walked away with the prestigious Golden Lion.

The jury in Venice was headed by Cuarón’s good friend Guillermo Del Toro, who joked he only had one vote like the rest of the jurors, who also picked Roma as their absolute favorite.

Cuarón described the festival in Venice and this coveted award as incredibly important to him and thanked everyone who was a part of his journey. Golden Lion winner expressed gratitude to his leading ladies Marina De Tavira, Yalitza Aparicio and Nancy Garcia for the immense respect shown in portraying the women who raised him.

Their contribution to this project was crucial, since they were front and center in Cuarón’s most personal project to date. Roma is set in the ‘70s and is inspired by the filmmaker’s upbringing in the middle-class neighborhood of Mexico City the movie was named after.

Critics had nothing but words of praise for this film, and described it as “a richly textured masterpiece” and “cinema at its purest and most human.” We’ll have to wait a few more months to make our own judgment. Roma will be released by Netflix on December 14, with a limited theatrical rollout planned.

Here’s a look at the rest of the major winners at this year’s Venice Film Festival:

Golden Lion: Roma by Alfonso Cuarón

Grand Jury Prize: The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos

Silver Lion: The Sisters Brothers by Jacques Audiard

Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Olivia Colman for The Favourite

Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Willem Dafoe for At Eternity’s Gate

Best Screenplay Award: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by Joel and Ethan Coen

Special Jury Prize: The Nightingale by Jennifer Kent

Marcello Mastroianni Award: Baykali Ganambarr for The Nightingale

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“A Star Is Born” to World Premiere at Venice Film Festival

Zoe Grace — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 05:44:15 +0000

The much-anticipated feature now has a world premiere.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s A Star Is Born will premiere at the 75th Toronto International Film Festival which runs from August 29 to September 8.

The new take on the classic tale is also Cooper’s directorial debut. The four-time Oscar nominee stars as Jackson Maine who discovers struggling artist Ally (Gaga). The pair ultimately falls in love but as Ally’s career soars, the duo’s relationship suffers, all to the backdrop of beautiful country music.

Tracks for the musical feature were written and performed by Gaga and Cooper in collaboration with Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell, and Mark Ronson. Appearing in the film are Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, and Sam Elliott.

According to Variety, the film will play out of competition and will make its debut screening on Monday, August 31.

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Jane Fonda and Robert Redford reunite for an Onscreen Romance and Talk About Love and Sex at an Older Age

Zoe Grace — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 13:25:07 +0000

Robert Redford and Jane Fonda were reunited in a new moving romance, Our Souls at Night. The two Hollywood stars were reunited 50 years after their first onscreen romance, Barefoot in the Park. This is their fourth collaboration on screen.

Adapted from the Kent Haruf novel, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Friday and will debut on Netflix in this month. The story is centered on a widow and widower who live next door to each other and fall into an unexpected romantic relationship. Their bond helps them combat their loneliness after many years of living in the same town, but having little interaction.

During a press conference at the Festival, Fonda told reporters that “[i]n Barefoot in the Park, I couldn’t keep my hands off of him. I was constantly forcing myself on him. In Our Souls at Night, the dynamic of my character to his character was somewhat similar. I just love the fact that these films bookend our careers. We played that young love just getting married and now we play old people love and old people sex. Although, In my opinion, Ritesh cut the sex scene too soon.” Fonda went on making a cheeky comment to the reporters saying that Redford “doesn’t like sex scenes,” while she lives for them, but she did also say that Redford is a great kisser, “[i]t was fun to kiss him in my 20s and then to kiss him again in my almost 80s.”

Fonda answered the reporters’ questions very candidly, speaking openly about how love changes as one gets older, “You know your body better, so you’re not afraid to ask for what you need. I think on a love and sex level, it just gets better.” As for Redford, he simply responded, “It just increases.”

Our Souls at Night premieres September 29.

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George Clooney is Happy Not to be Starring in Coen Brother’s “Suburbicon”

Zoe Grace — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 08:49:28 +0000

Co-written by the Coen Brothers and directed by George Clooney, Suburbicon is a dark comedy set in the 1950’s, about a suburban dad taking the law into his own hands after a home invasion. Matt Damon stars as Gardner Lodge, who decides to take violent revenge on the criminal forces in his hometown.

This will be the first film Clooney has directed since The Monuments Men (2014). Additional cast members are Julianne Moore and Noah Jupe. This is the first time Clooney did not take a role in a movie he directed; he said to Entertainment Weekly that it was a relief, and the he’s “happy to just be able to sit on the sidelines and let other people do the acting.”

Joel and Ethan Coen first worked with Clooney on Brother, Were Art Thou? This is when they approached him about staring in Suburbicon as an insurance investigator, but the project ended up not happening. However, it was only in 2014 when the Ocean’s Eleven star was looking for a new project, that he thought of collaborating with the brothers on Suburbicon. The role that was offered to him of a suspicious investigator will be portrayed by Oscar Issac.

The film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and will be released in cinemas across the US on November 3.

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Thriller 3D Remake to Premiere in Venice Film Festival

Zoe Grace — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 22:26:39 +0000

Finally, Michael Jackson fans have something to be thrilled about as director John Landis’ 3D rendition of the iconic 14-minute Thriller music video will premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

This was originally announced in 2014 as a backdrop to be used on Jackson’s This Is It Tour, however, due to a legal dispute the release of the 3D version was delayed. Landis, who directed the 1983 original for a reported 500,000 dollars, released a statement on Monday saying that he looking to take “full advantage of the remarkable advances in technology to add new dimensions to both the visual and the audio bringing it to a whole new level.” He added that unlike the original, which was shot traditionally, this time around he “was able to use the 3D creatively,” warning fans to expect “a rather shocking surprise in there.”

The Venice Film Festival begins August 30, and alongside the premiere of the new Thriller music video, there will be a screening of the Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller documentary that first aired the same year the original music video was released.

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