The 77th Venice Film Festival drew to an end on Saturday night. Learn more about the winners and the major events of this year’s edition.
Changes at All Levels
This year was undoubtedly a year of change for the film festival, not only because of the Covid-19 situation but also because Alberto Barbera, Venice International Film Festival’s director, made a point of including more films directed by women in the competition. In this way, 8 out of the 18 films presented in the competition were directed by women. Moreover, this year's selection also witnessed an increase in the number of films which were not American productions.
Frances McDormand in "Nomadland" - © Joshua Richardson
Nomadland Wins Top Award, Kiyoshi Kurosawa Takes Silver Lion Award for Best Director Home
The winners of the 77th Venice Film Festival were announced on the festival’s closing night by the seven members of the Jury, led by Australian actress Cate Blanchett. Chloé Zhao’s drama Nomadland, which tells the journey of a woman who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, decides to hit the road and explore life as a modern-day nomad, was awarded the Golden Lion for best film. Zhao is the first woman director to win this award since 2010. Michel Franco took second prize with his film New Order, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize. Among the top awards, Dear Comrades by Andrey Konchalovskiy won the Special Jury Award. Last but not least, Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa won the Silver Lion for directing for Wife of a Spy.
The Volpi Cup for best actor was awarded to Pierfrancesco Favino for his starring role in Claudio Noce’s coming-of-age drama film Padrenostro, while Vanessa Kirby won the Volpi Cup for best actress for her dazzling performance in Pieces of a Woman.
Orizzonti Section
The jury of the Orizzonti competition, chaired this year by Claire Denis, decided to give the award for best film to The Wasteland. Furthermore, the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize went to Ana Rocha de Sousa’s drama Listen. Earlier that night, the Portuguese director was also awarded the Lion of the Future, an award bestowed for a debut film.
The full list of winners is below.
Competition
Golden Lion: Nomadland - Chloé Zhao
Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize: New Order - Michel Franco
Silver Lion - Award for Best Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa - Wife of a Spy
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Pierfrancesco Favino - Padrenostro
Award for Best Screenplay: Chaitanya Tamhane - The Disciple
Special Jury Prize: Dear Comrades - Andrei Konchalovsky
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent: Rouhollah Zamani - Sun Children
Orizzonti
Best Film: The Wasteland - Ahmad Bahrami
Best Director: Lav Diaz - Genus Pan
Special Jury Prize: Listen - Ana Rocha de Sousa
Best Actress: Khansa Batma - Zanka Contact
Best Actor: Yahya Mahayni - The Man Who Sold His Skin
Best Screenplay: The Predators - Pietro Castellitto
Best Short Film: Entre tú y Milagros - Mariana Saffon
Lion of the Future - "Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film: Listen - Ana Rocha de Sousa