Todd Phillips’ Joker triumphs at the Film Festival. Awards for Polanski, Maresco, and, surprisingly, Roy Andersson. Volpi Cup winners Luca Marinelli and Ariane Ascaride dedicate their awards to the migrants lost in the Mediterranean waters
On the day of the No Global protests, the Venice Film Festival is won by a film that, in bringing a comic book “villain” to the screen, takes political stances: “Joker” by Todd Phillips, featuring a fantastic Joaquin Phoenix poised for an Oscar nomination, is a film with multiple interpretations and will be in Italian cinemas this October.
But as happens every year, during the long final day of the Venice Film Festival, between catching up on screenings and hunting for “rumors” about the winners, we indulged in our own predictions regarding the films in competition, only to later compare them with those of the Jury.
Our favorite film was “J’Accuse” by Roman Polanski, a film that garnered universal consensus and was also the most voted film by critics according to surveys by Ciak magazine. The film was awarded the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, despite the controversies raised by president Lucrecia Martel during the opening days of the festival.
In our preferences, we placed the eventual winner of the Golden Lion, Joker, in second place, although many hoped for a second Volpi Cup for Joaquin Phoenix after his 2012 win for “The Master.” We had hypothesized that an Italian film might win an award, and although some of us were rooting for Mario Martone’s “The Mayor of Rione Sanità,” based on a play by De Filippo, we are pleased with the Special Jury Prize awarded to Franco Maresco and his “Mafia Is Not What It Used to Be.”
For the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, almost all of us expected the award might go to Luca Marinelli, even though the film “Martin Eden” did not particularly thrill us. Besides Joaquin Phoenix, some of us hoped to see the cup raised by Mark Rylance, the protagonist of Ciro Guerra’s “Waiting for the Barbarians,” who was among those excluded from the awards. Also notable in the latter film was the performance of Johnny Depp, who should be remembered for more than just “igniting” the red carpet.
Conversely, we did not have a unified position for the Volpi Cup for Best Actress: some felt it should be awarded to Catherine Deneuve (The Truth), others to Meryl Streep (The Laundromat), and still others to Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story). However, we were not surprised by the victory of Ariane Ascaride (Gloria Mundi), whom we had already greatly admired two years ago in “The House by the Sea.” Both winners of the cup dedicated their awards to the many migrants lying at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
For the Marcello Mastroianni Award for a young emerging actor or actress, we came very close by thinking of Eliza Scanlen (Babyteeth). In reality, the young Toby Wallace, co-star in the same film, was honored.
Among our favorites in competition that did not receive awards were “The Laundromat,” “Marriage Story,” and “The Truth.” Similarly, in the Orizzonti section, “Just 6.5” by Saeed Roustaee, “Sole” by Carlo Sironi, and “Pelican Blood” by Katrin Gebbe. For Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Madre,” the award for best actress went to Marta Nieto.
Among the collateral awards, we were happy for the recognition given to Nate Parker’s “American Skin” (Best Movie Sconfini) and Sebastián Muñoz’s “The Prince” (Queer Lion).
What is certain is that this was a very rich edition of the Film Festival, not only in the official sections but also in the collateral ones, so much so that the “Lion of the Future” for best debut film was awarded to a film in the “Venice Days” section (You Will Die at 20 by Amjad Abu Alala).
The lights go down on this edition and we are already looking forward to next year’s, which will kick off on September 2, 2020. Thanks to the many friends who accompanied us during these two weeks: thanks to the Biennale staff, the ushers and security personnel, thanks to the staff at the bars in the Casino area, who managed absurd queues and often groundless complaints, thanks to the Bartenders (Marco, Luca, Francesca, and Anna) and all the staff of the Campari Lounge, who always welcomed us with great warmth and friendliness, and thanks… to all of us photographers and bloggers of Venezia da Vivere. It was wonderful to team up to tell everyone about the 76th Venice Film Festival.
Below are all the Awards of the 76th Venice International Film Festival
• Golden Lion (Best Film): “Joker” by Todd Phillips
• Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize): “J’Accuse” by Roman Polanski
• Silver Lion (Best Director): Roy Andersson for “About Endlessness.”
• Volpi Cup (Best Actor): Luca Marinelli for “Martin Eden”
• Volpi Cup (Best Actress): Ariane Ascaride for “Gloria Mundi”
• Award for Best Screenplay: Yonfan for “No. 7 Cherry Lane”
• Special Jury Prize: “Mafia Is Not What It Used to Be” by Franco Maresco
• Marcello Mastroianni Award for a young emerging actor or actress: Toby Wallace for “Babyteeth”
Orizzonti Section
• Orizzonti Award for Best Film: “Atlantis” by Valentyn Vasyanovych
• Orizzonti Award for Best Director: Theo Court for “White on White”
• Orizzonti Special Jury Prize: “Verdict” by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
• Orizzonti Award for Best Actor: Sami Bouajila for “A Son”
• Orizzonti Award for Best Actress: Marta Nieto for “Madre”
• Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay: “Revenir” by Jessica Palud
• Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film: “Darling” by Saim Sadiq
• “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film (Lion of the Future): You Will Die at 20 – Amjad Abu Alala
Venice Virtual Reality
• Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive VR Work: The Key: Celine Tricart
• Best Immersive VR Experience for Interactive Content: A Linha – Riccardo Laganaro
• Best Immersive VR Story for Interactive Content: Daughters of Chibok – Joel Kachi Benson
Venice Classics
• Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film: “Ecstasy” by Gustav Machatý
• Best Documentary on Cinema: “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die” by Barbara Paz
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement:
• Julie Andrews
• Pedro Almodóvar
Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award 2019
• Costa-Gavras
Campari Passion for Film Award
• Luca Bigazzi
To learn more, read also 76th Venice Film Festival: A Shower of Stars Illuminates the Lagoon and
A Coffee with Venezia da Vivere at the Film Festival
Article by Pietro Gallina from veneziacinema.com (info@veneziacinema.com) for Venezia da Vivere.
Photos are by Rossana Viola and Marta Formentello for Venezia da Vivere and taken from the web.
