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VENICE 2017 Awards

The Golden Lion goes to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water

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- VENICE 2017: The Silver Lion went to Israel’s Foxtrot, France’s Xavier Legrand secured a double win with Custody, and Nico, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli triumphed in Orizzonti

The Golden Lion goes to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water
Guillermo del Toro with his Golden Lion for The Shape of Water

It was the bookies’ favourite – and, surprise surprise, it won. The jury of the Venice Film Festival, chaired by Annette Bening, handed the Golden Lion to Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water. The film is set to hit screens all over the world, proving that Venice is not afraid to select more audience-friendly movies. “We had some honest discussions,” said Bening. After Alfonso Cuarón in 2013 with Gravity [+see also:
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making of
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Alejandro González Iñárritu in 2014 with Birdman (both of which won several Oscars after taking part in the Mostra) and Amat Escalante in 2016 with The Untamed [+see also:
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]
, del Toro is the fourth Mexican director to have a major presence at the festival in the space of just a few years. Moreover, recently, the Mostra has often chosen to award cinema from both North and South America, such as Venezuelan first-time director Lorenzo Vigas and Argentina’s Pablo Trapero, among others. Del Toro dedicated his Lion to all Latin American and Mexican directors: “It’s important to have faith and stay pure,” he stated.

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The Grand Jury Prize Silver Lion went to Foxtrot [+see also:
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interview: Samuel Maoz
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]
, helmed by one of Venice’s darlings, Israeli director Samuel Maoz, who won the Golden Lion in 2009 with Lebanon [+see also:
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. His latest film also received a unanimous stamp of approval from the accredited press at the Mostra. “The actors breathed life into the words that I wrote for them – they were reflected in their eyes,” remarked the director. 

There was a double win for French actor Xavier Legrand, who made his directorial debut with Custody [+see also:
film review
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interview: Xavier Legrand
film profile
]
, which won for Best Director and – handed out by a different jury – the Lion of the Future - Laurentiis Prize for a First Film. An emotional Legrand was overcome by tears when the second award was announced: “Let’s hope for a better future,” he said, referring to the scourge of violence against women, which his film specifically deals with.

The Volpi Cups went to Kamel El Basha, the lead actor from the film The Insult [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ziad Doueiri
film profile
]
 by Lebanon’s Ziad Doueiri, and Charlotte Rampling, the star of Hannah [+see also:
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]
 by Italy’s Andrea Pallaoro. “Italy is my greatest source of inspiration; it’s thanks to you that I’m here right now.”

The Best Screenplay Award went to British director Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside EbbingMissouri [+see also:
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, a movie that perhaps deserved to win something else. “We’ve had great fun, we’ve drunk a lot of Negroni, but this has been the greatest part,” he said. 

There was a Special Jury Prize for Sweet Country by Australian aboriginal director Warwick Thornton. The Marcello Mastroianni Prize for Best Young Actor/Actress went to young actor Charlie Plummer, the star of Lean on Pete [+see also:
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, who proclaimed, “I hope to follow in the footsteps of Marcello Mastroianni.” 

Gianni Amelio, the president of Orizzonti, a section that selects the films that represent the latest trends in world cinema, announced the winning film of this year’s edition: Nico, 1988 [+see also:
film review
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interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
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]
by Susanna Nicchiarelli, a road movie exploring the twilight years of Christa Päffgen, aka Nico, set in Paris, Prague, Nuremberg, Manchester, the Polish countryside and the Roman coast. “It’s a complicated film, as it’s both Italian and international on account of its cast, music and locations. I’d like to thank Belgian producer Joseph Rouschop and Italian producers Gregorio Paonessa and Marta Donzelli, who allowed me to make the best film I possibly could. And finally, if the film is fantastic, it’s all thanks to lead actress Trine Dyrholm,” said Nicchiarelli.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 74th edition of the Venice Film Festival:

Competition

Golden Lion
The Shape of Water - Guillermo del Toro (US)

Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize
Foxtrot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel Maoz
film profile
]
 - Samuel Maoz (Israel/Germany/France)

Silver Lion - Award for Best Director
Xavier Legrand - Custody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Legrand
film profile
]
 (France)

Special Jury Prize
Sweet Country - Warwick Thornton (Australia)

Volpi Cup for Best Actress
Charlotte Rampling - Hannah [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 (Italy/France/Belgium/United States)

Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Kamel El Basha - The Insult [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ziad Doueiri
film profile
]
 (Lebanon/France/Belgium/United States)

Award for Best Screenplay
Martin McDonagh - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 (UK/US)

Marcello Mastroianni Prize for Best Young Actor/Actress
Charlie Plummer - Lean on Pete [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 (UK)

Lion of the Future - Laurentiis Prize for a First Film
Custody - Xavier Legrand

Orizzonti

Best Film
Nico, 1988 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
film profile
]
 - Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium)

Best Director
Vahid Jalilvand - No Date, No Signature (Iran)

Special Jury Prize
Caniba [+see also:
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]
 - Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor (France)

Best Actress
Lyna Khoudri - Les Bienheureux [+see also:
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]
 (France/Belgium)

Best Actor
Navid Mohammadzadeh - No Date, No Signature

Best Screenplay
Dominique Welinski, René Ballesteros - Oblivion Verses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alireza Khatami
film profile
]
 (France/Germany/Netherlands/Chile)

Best Short Film
Gros chagrin - Céline Devaux (France)

Venice Classics

Best Restored Film
Come and See - Elem Klimov (USSR)

Best Documentary on Cinema
The Prince and the Dibbuk - Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski (Poland/Germany)

Venice Virtual Reality

Best VR
Arden's Wake - Eugene YK Chung (US)

Best Experience
La camera insabbiata - Laurie Anderson, Huang Hsin-Chien (US)

Best Story
Bloodless - Gina Kim (South Korea/US)

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