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VENICE 2019 Competition / Orizzonti / Awards

Joker scoops the Golden Lion at Venice

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- VENICE 2019: Todd Phillips' film has bewitched the jury; the Silver Lion went to Polanski and Best Director to Roy Andersson. The Special Jury Prize was for La mafia non è più quella di una volta

Joker scoops the Golden Lion at Venice
Director Todd Phillips and actor Joaquin Phoenix on stage with the Golden Lion

The “insane talent” of Joaquin Phoenix (as described by director Todd Phillips) has triumphed over the competition. Joker has walked away with the Golden Lion at this the 76th edition of Venice International Film Festival. The incredible physical and psychological transformation of the actor, alongside the film’s mise-en-scène and screenplay, enchanted the jury presided over by Lucrecia Martel and composed of Stacy Martin, Mary Harron, Piers Handling, Rodrigo Prieto, Shinya Tsukamoto and Paolo Virzì. Phoenix appeared on stage with the director to accept the award and Phillips confirmed that without the former and his insane talent, “the film would never have existed”.

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Roman Polanski wasn’t there to accept the Silver Lion–Grand Jury Prize for the magnificent An Officer And A Spy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, for reasons we’re all aware of. Instead, his wife Emmanuelle Seigner, who starred in the cast of the Dreyfus Affair-based film, took his place on stage. Sweden’s Roy Andersson wasn’t in Venice either, the winner of the Best Director Silver Lion for About Endlessness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
. In his place stood producer Johan Carlsson. This is Roy Andersson’s second Lion, following the golden version he claimed in 2014 for A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
.

There was yet another absence: that of the elusive Franco Maresco, who was honoured with the Special Jury Award for La mafia non è più quella di una volta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
. Producer Rean Mazzone delivered thanks on behalf of the Sicilian director, saying that he hoped the film would be distributed in the near future and declaring himself to be against “any form of censorship”.

Sparkling speeches, meanwhile, were made by Yonfan, who scooped the Best Screenplay award for No.7 Cherry Lane and the two triumphant actors; Arianne Ascaride, honoured for Gloria Mundi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Guédiguian
film profile
]
, directed by her lifelong sidekick Robert Guédiguian, gave a moving “political” speech, paying tribute to her origins as the daughter of Italian immigrants who left for France to escape poverty, and dedicating the award to “all those sleeping on the Mediterranean seabed”; before her, Luca Marinelli, who walked away with the Volpi Cup for Best Actor by way of Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile
]
, thanked both the director for “gifting him this adventure” and Jack London - who created the character of the legendary sailor in the book upon which the film is based - dedicating the award to “all those people at sea who help those who are trying to escape unimaginable situations”.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Competition

Golden Lion
Joker - Todd Phillips (USA/Canada)

Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize
An Officer and a Spy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Roman Polanski (France/Italy)

Silver Lion - Award for Best Director
Roy Andersson - About Endlessness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
(Sweden/Germany/Norway)

Special Jury Prize
La mafia non è più quella di una volta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Franco Maresco (Italy)

Volpi Cup for Best Actress
Ariane Ascaride - Gloria Mundi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Guédiguian
film profile
]
(France/Italy)

Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Luca Marinelli - Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile
]
(Italy/France)

Award for Best Screenplay
Yonfan - No.7 Cherry Lane (Hong Kong/China)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent
Toby Wallace - Babyteeth (Australia)

Lion of the Future - "Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film
You Will Die at 20 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amjad Abu Alala
film profile
]
- Amjad Abu Alala (Sudan/France/Egypt/Norway/Germany/Qatar)

Orizzonti

Best Film
Atlantis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile
]
- Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine)

Best Director
Théo Court - White on White [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Théo Court
film profile
]
(Spain/Chile/France/Germany)

Special Jury Prize
Verdict [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Raymund Ribay Gutierrez (Philippines/France)

Best Actress
Marta Nieto - Madre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile
]
(Spain/France)

Best Actor
Sami Bouajila - A Son [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehdi M Barsaoui and Sami B…
film profile
]
(Tunisia/France/Lebanon/Qatar)

Best Screenplay
Jessica Palud, Philippe Lioret, Diastème - Revenir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(France)

Best Short Film
Darling - Saim Sadiq (Pakistan/USA)

Venice Classics

Best Restored Film
Ecstasy - Gustav Machatý (Czechoslovakia/Austria)

Best Documentary on Cinema
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die - Barbara Paz (Brazil)

Venice Virtual Reality

Best VR
The Key - Celine Tricart (USA)

Best Experience
The Line - Ricardo Laganaro (Brazil)

Best VR Story
Daughters of Chibok - Joel Kachi Benson (Nigeria)

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(Translated from Italian)

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