The 82nd edition of the international festival concluded today in the Italian city, with the jury awarding the top prize to the comedy-drama written and directed by Jim Jarmusch.
The second most important award was granted to a film by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, focusing on a Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli army.
Ben Hania, receiving a standing ovation at the award ceremony, dedicated the prize to “all those who risk their lives to save the Palestinian people,” calling for an “end to the genocide that the criminal regime of Israel is committing daily.”
“We all believe in the power of cinema. It gives us the courage to continue telling stories,” she remarked on her feature film that recounts the true story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl found dead in January 2024, in Gaza, after an Israeli attack targeted the car she was traveling in with relatives.
Before dying, Hind Rajab spent several hours on the phone with Red Crescent paramedics while the car was fired upon by soldiers and her family members were killed. These recordings formed the basis of the film shown in Venice.
American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, whose film features a cast including Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Sarah Greene, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat, expressed gratitude for the “great honor” granted by the Venice jury in “the land of Casanova, Vivaldi, and Terence Hill.”
The Silver Lion for Best Director was awarded to Benny Safdie for ‘The Smashing Machine,’ and the Special Jury Prize went to ‘Sotto le Nuvole,’ directed by Gianfranco Rosi.
The jury, presided by American filmmaker Alexander Payne, included directors Stéphane Brizé, Mohammad Rasoulof, Maura Delpero, and Cristian Mungiu, and actresses Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao, who presented the main awards.
Other films in the official competition included ‘A House of Dynamite’ by Kathryn Bigelow, ‘Frankenstein’ by Guillermo del Toro, ‘Bugonia’ by Yorgos Lanthimos.
The Volpi Cup for Best Actor was awarded to Tony Servillo for ‘La Grazia,’ and for Best Actress to Xin Zhilei in ‘The Sun Shines on Us All,’ while the Marcello Mastroianni Award for an emerging actor or actress was given to Luna Wedler for her role in ‘Silent Friend.’
The Best Screenplay Award went to Valerie Donzelli and Gilles Marchand for the film “À Pied d’Oeuvre.”
Nastia Korkia, a Russian-born director who won the Lion of the Future with the film “Short Summer,” criticized the invasion of Ukraine while receiving her award: “Like radiation, it is destroying society from within. I hope we keep our eyes open to have the courage to stop this war.”
Throughout the ceremony, several filmmakers concluded their acceptance speeches with statements like ‘Viva a Palestina!’ or ‘Palestina livre!’, including Maryan Touzani and Ana Cristina Barragan.
Indian director Anuparma Roy, awarded for Best Direction for ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ in the ‘Horizons’ section, expressed special support for the Palestinian people in her speech, stating that “all children deserve freedom and hope.”
In the same section, the Best Film award went to ‘El Camino’ by David Pablos, a tale of solidarity, and the special jury prize was given to ‘Harà Vatan (Lost Land)’ by Akio Fujimoto, a film about the suffering of the Rohingya people, one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, while ‘The Souffleur’ by Gastón Solnicki, with cinematography by Portuguese Rui Poças, received no accolades.
A group of activists, professionals, and Italian journalists issued an open letter before the festival’s start on August 27, urging the festival to condemn “the agony of a genocide broadcast live by the State of Israel.”
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement honored German filmmaker and writer Werner Herzog and American actress Kim Novak, with special career awards also granted to directors Gus Van Sant and Julian Schnabel.
