Venice Film Festival Winners
Manuel here to catch us up on the winners of the 71st Venice Film Festival.
The big story (as far as US-based coverage goes) is the "shutout" of Alejandro González Iñárritu Birdman. As it turns out, the Alexandre Desplat-led jury went with another feathered-titled film. Find the full list of winners below.
Golden Lion: A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence by Roy Andersson
Grand Jury Prize: The Look Of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer
Silver Lion (Best Director): Andrej Koncalovskij, The Postman's White Nights
Best Actor: Adam Driver in Hungry Hearts
Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher in Hungry Hearts
Marcello Mastroianni Award (Best Young Actor): Romain Paul in Le Dernier Coup De Marteau
Best Screenplay: Rakhshan Banietemad and Farid Mostafavi, Ghesseha (Tales)
Special Jury Prize: Sivas by Kaan Müjdeci
An Emmy nomination. A Venice Film Festival Award. A plum role in an iconic franchise's upcoming entry. A couple of ensemble films opening at the Toronto Film Festival. It's a great time to be Adam Driver, don't you think?
Horizon Awards:
Best Film: Court by Chaitanya Tamhane
Best Director: Naji Abu Nowa, Theeb
Special Jury Prize: Belluscone. Una Storia Siciliana by Franco Maresco
Best Actor or Actress: Emir Hadžihafizbegovi in These Are The Rules
Best Short Film: Maryam by Sidi Saleh
Venice Classic Awards
Best Restored Film: Una Giornata Particolare, Ettore Scola
Best Documentary on Cinema: Animata Resistenza, Francesco Montagner and Alberto Girotto
Which of these films are you most excited about? Just as Hungry Hearts shot up on my own list of "look out for" films following its pair of awards, I'm sure there are others inching up on people's lists of Fall Season films to catch before year's end (it's around this time that my own pretty much looks thrillingly overwhelming).
Reader Comments (12)
From this list of winners, I'm most excited by Hungry Hearts too, mainly because I keep on loving whatever Adam Driver brings to the plate in each new role of his. He's so unconventional yet he has such an indellible presence that I hope bigger things keep coming for him. He's well on his way!
From the movies premiering, apart from Birdman and 99 Homes (obvious picks, Oscar buzz etc) I have Zvyagintsev's Leviathan as my #2 most anticipated movie of the year and with every ravishing review my expectations soar higher.
A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence--I love that title, but now with the top award, I want to see the film.
I want to hear more about Hungry Hearts.
I can't pick just one to be excited for! As a big fan of Adam Driver, Hungry Hearts might be the one i want to see first.
A pigeon sat on a branch must be very interesting. It's made only by 39 shots with only one camera movement.
During the celebration Tim Roth said openly that The Look of Silence is a masterpiece, "moving as see born his own children". This made me very curuious.
Finally Hungry Hearts. I don't love Saverio Costanzo as director, but I want to see how work Adam and Alba Rohrwacher together (Alba was Tilda Swinton's lesbian daughetr in I Am Love)
so excited for Roy Andersson. If A Pigeon Sat on Branch Reflecting on Existence is half as good as the previous two installments in the trilogy, Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living, it'll be a masterpiece
I would have skipped the franchise, but yes, I'm super happy for Adam. He's one of the most exciting actors I've seen in a while.
Amusing that the Best Director award was won (by my brief research anyway) by the director of TANGO AND CASH!
I don't care how good the reviews are, I am never going to see something with a title as dumb as 'A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence.' Period. I'm not joking.
anonny -- the title is perfect for the movie. and the movie is great. Review up now.
Anonny- what are you talking about? I like it when movies have titles are quirky, specific, and telling as that one does. I know it's a mouthful, but it makes the movie even more memorable and easy to refer to in conversation. I hate super generic titles, like any movie with a variation of the word "hunt", which IMDB lists about 50 movies. But there's only one "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and I bet there will only be one movie called "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence." :)
Anonny you have to read titles of the italian director Lina Wertmuller so
The two movie I'm anticipating the most this fall is
1. The Toy Soldiers (if it got picked up by a bigger dist company it would be a serious Oscar contender)
2. Hungry Hearts