All The Beauty And The Bloodshed wins Golden Lion

Rare win for documentary in Venice

by Amber Wilkinson

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed Photo: Courtesy of TIFF

For only the second time in the history of Venice Film Festival the Golden Lion was awarded to a documentary - Laura Poitras' All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.

The film charts artist Nan Goldin's attempts hold the Sackler family responsible for the opioid epidemic, and the director dedicated the award to her. Poitras also drew attention to director Jafar Pahani, whose No Bears was in competition at the festival and who is currently under arrest in Iran.

She said: "I call on all of us to do whatever we can with whatever we have to release Jafar Panahi."

No Bears itself was singled out for a Special Jury Prize.

The only other doc to win the top award at the festival was Gianfranco Rosi’s 2013 Sacro GRA.

The Silver Lion Grand Jury prize and the Luigi De Laurentis Lion of the Future award for best debut film both went to Alice Diop for Saint Omer.

Cate Blanchett was named best actress for role as a classical conductor in Todd Field’s Tár, while Colin Farrell won the actor accolade for The Banshees Of Inisherin, which also won best screenplay for Martin McDonagh.

Taylor Russell won the best newcomer prize, while World War III, directed by Houman Seyyedi, won the Orizzonti Award.

The awards in full:

Competition

Orizzonti

  • Best film – World War III, dir. Houman Seyyedi
  • Best director – Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmer, Vera
  • Special jury prize – Bread And Salt, dir. Damian Kocur
  • Best actress – Vera Gemma, Vera
  • Best actor – Mohsen Tanabandeh, World War III
  • Best screenplay – Fernando Guzzoni, Blanquita
  • Best short – Snow In September, dir. Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
  • FIPRESCI – Autobiography, dir. Makbul Mubarak

Orizzonti Extra

  • Audience award – Nezouh, dir. Soudade Kaadan

Venice Classics

  • Best documentary – Fragments Of Paradise, dir. KD Davison
  • Best restored film – Branded To Kill, dir. Seijun Suzuki

Immersive

  • Best experience – The Man Who Couldn’t Leave, cre. Chen Singing
  • Grand jury prize – From The Main Square, cre. Pedro Harres
  • Special jury prize – Eggscape, cre. German Heller, Jorge Tereso, Federico Heller

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