There was no favorite for the Golden Lion this year. Most certainly didn’t expect a documentary film to receive Venice’s highest award. But the jury at the 79th Venice Film Festival, presided over by Julianne Moore, decided to do just that, naming Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” the best film in the competition .
The documentary tells about the political and artistic work of the photographer Nan Goldin and her fight against the Sackler family, which is known for marketing the addictive drug Oxycontin and sponsoring culture. The drug, which contains the addictive substance oxycodone, played an important role in the US opioid crisis, which has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Nan Goldin was himself dependent on Oxycontin
Goldin became famous with intimate photographs that deal with themes such as sexuality, illness, desire or violence. “I think it’s a beautifully told story about a woman who felt excluded and managed to create art out of it,” said jury president Julianne Moore after the award ceremony. The film tells “not only her story, but also the story of the opioid crisis in the United States. How a woman uses her power to bring about change.” Nan Goldin was addicted to the drug herself.
Scene from “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
US filmmaker Laura Poitras is known, among other things, for her Oscar-winning film “Citizenfour” about whistleblower Edward Snowden. With her triumph on Saturday night in Venice, she is the seventh woman to win the Golden Lion since 1949. In addition to her, four other directors competed; a total of 23 entries competed.
Jury Prize for Alice Diop’s feature film debut
The French Alice Diop won the Grand Jury Prize with “Saint Omer”. Diop’s feature film debut tells the story of two women, the pregnant writer Rama (Kayije Kagame) and the young woman Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), who is accused of murdering her 15-month-old daughter in the northern French town of Saint-Omer. Rama wants to write a novel and use the court case to transport the Medea myth from Greek mythology to the present day. The process works on how Laurence, who was raised strictly in Senegal, had to experience racism in Europe and isolated herself more and more.
Before that she made documentaries: Alice Diop won the Grand Jury Prize with her feature film debut
The film is one of several extraordinary women’s stories shown in Venice this year.
Imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi was honored with the Special Jury Prize for “No Bears”. In the film, in which he plays himself, the 62-year-old has recently been staying in a small Iranian village near the border. He is not allowed to leave his country because of an exit ban. From afar, he and a team in Turkey shoot a film via video link about a couple who want to leave Iran. In addition to this story, which continues to be told, it is also about what is happening in the village of which Panahi has recently become a resident.
Jafar Panahi in “No Bears”
Insanely good: Cate Blanchett in “TÁR”
Cate Blanchett from Australia received the Best Actress award for her performance in “Tár” (director: Todd Field). The film is about Lydia Tár, the fictional first chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has achieved everything that a conductor can achieve and has developed a brittle uncompromising attitude in the patriarchal world of classical music. But then her life gets out of hand because of allegations of abuse. Blanchett excels in the role of a woman who tends to appear cool. German actress Nina Hoss plays her partner.
Colin Farrell was honored as Best Actor in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. In the black comedy, the 46-year-old plays the Irishman Pádraic, whose best friend to date, Colm, suddenly and without reason decides to end their friendship. Completely irritated, Pádraic tries to rekindle the friendship and does not accept his former friend’s no. He then takes drastic measures. Martin McDonagh’s film won the Best Screenplay award.
Scene from “The Banshees of Inisherin” with Colin Farrell (l.) and Brendan Gleeson in the role of “Colm”
“Bones and All”: best director, young actress and red carpet moment
“Bones and All”, a road movie that mixes cannibalistic horror with teenage love, also received an award: Luca Guadagnino received the Silver Lion for best director for his film; his leading actress Taylor Russel was honored with the Marcello Mastroianni Prize for best young actress.
Most talked about red carpet appearance: Actor Timothee Chalamet came backless in red satin
The 79th Venice Film Festival came to an end with the grand awards ceremony on Saturday evening. Alongside the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlinale, the Lido Film Festival is one of the three most important in the world.
bb/wa (dpa, labiennale.org)
