Alfonso Cuaron is riding high in Venice once again, taking home the Golden Lion for his critically acclaimed Roma. The prize was given to him by jury president and friend Guillermo del Toro, who joked that he wasn’t sure if he could pronounce his name. Cuaron previously conquered the Lido in 2013 with Gravity, with opened the festival out of competition, and went on to win seven Academy Awards.
The Three Amigos, as del Toro, Cuaron and Inarritu are known, are officially unstoppable at the Italian festival. Last year del Toro took home the Golden Lion for The Shape of Water before going on to win best picture at the Oscars. And Inarritu premiered Birdman in Venice in 2014 before going on to win best picture. Inarritu, who has been in the Venice competition lineup twice, is now the lone amigo without a Lion. Roma, co-produced by Participant Media and Esperanto Filmoj, is a semi-autobiographical black-and-white film on his early upbringing in 1970s Mexico City, seen through the eyes of his housekeeper Cleo. While Netflix has not yet committed to a theatrical release before it hits the streamer, this prize will certainly put weight behind an Oscar campaign for the film.
The world’s oldest film fest concluded its 75th anniversary edition.
The full list of winners is below.
Venice 75 Awards:
Golden Lion: Roma, dir. Alfonso Cuaron
Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: The Favourite, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Silver Lion Best Director: The Sisters Brothers, dir. Jacques Audiard
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Olivia Colman in The Favourite, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Willem Dafoe in At Eternity’s Gate, dir. Julien Schnabel
Best Screenplay Award: Joel & Ethan Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Special Jury Prize: The Nightingale, dir. Jennifer Kent
Marcello Mastroianni Award: Baykali Ganambarr for The Nightingale, dir. Jennifer Kent
Horizons Awards:
Best Film: Kraben Rahu, dir Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Best Director: Ozen, dir. Emir Baigazin
Special Jury Prize: Anons, dir. Mahmut Fazil Coskun
Best Actress: Natalya Kudryashova, The Man Who Surprised Everyone, dir. Aleksey Chupoy, Natalya Merkuloya
Best Actor: Kais Nashif for Tel Aviv on Fire, dir. Sameh Zoabi
Best Screenplay: Jinpa, written and dir. Pema Tseden
Lion of the Future
Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film: The Day I Lost My Shadow, dir. Soudade Kaadan
Venice Classics
Best Documentary on Cinema: The Great Buster: A Celebration, dir. Peter Bogdanovich
Best Restored Film: The Night of the Shooting Stars, dir. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Venice VR
Best VR Film: Spheres, dir. Eliza McNitt
Best VR Experience Award: Buddy VR, dir. Chuck Chae
Best VR Story Award: I’iIe des morts, dir. Benjamin Nuel
(HR)
