‘Joker’ Wins Venice Film Festival Golden Lion, Roman Polanski Gets Grand Jury Prize
The 2019 Venice International Film Festival has wrapped, and this year’s edition has announced its award winners. The Golden Lion, the festival’s top laureate, went to “Joker,” which is a strong statement from this year’s competition jury led by Lucrecia Martel. See the complete list of this year’s winners below.
In recent years, the Venice Golden Lion has gone to films that went on to have legs in the awards-season conversation stateside. Last year’s Lion went to Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” which won three Academy Awards for Netflix but lost Best Picture to “Green Book.” The year prior, the Golden Lion went to Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” which won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2018.
In a surprise upset over Joaquin Phoenix in hot competition title “Joker” (until it carried off with the Golden Lion), Best Actor went to Luca Marinelli for his titular turn in the Jack London adaptation “Martin Eden.” Best Actress went to Ariane Ascaride, star of “Gloria Mundi.” The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Roy Andersson for “About Endlessness.”
In another surprise, the Grand Jury Prize went to Roman Polanski (not in attendance, of course) for “An Officer and a Spy,” which earlier this week picked up a FIPRESCI honor out of the festival.
The Marcello Mastroianni Award for Young Actor went to Toby Wallace for the Australian cancer drama “Babyteeth.” In his review, IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote, “Wallace is… strong, refusing to let his demons peel off the way that a lesser film would ask them to. He’s also the funniest part of a film with a wicked sense of humor.”
In the Venice Classics section, Best Documentary went to director Bárbara Paz for “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die,” an immersion into the life of her late partner, Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco. Best Restored Film went to Gustav Machatý’s scandalous 1933 “Ecstasy,” starring Hedy Lamarr
In the Horizons sidebar, prizes went to “Madre,” “A Son,” “Revenir,” “Darling,” and “Verdict.” Best Film in this section went to Valentyn Vasyanovych’s PTSD drama “Atlantis.”
As previously announced, Julie Andrews and Pedro Almodóvar received Honorary Golden Lions for their many contributions to the art form.
COMPETITION
Golden Lion: “Joker,” Todd Phillips
Grand Jury Prize: “An Officer and a Spy,” Roman Polanski
Silver Lion for Best Director: Roy Andersson, “About Endlessness”
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Ariane Ascaride, “Gloria Mundi”
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Luca Marinelli, “Martin Eden”
Best Screenplay: “No. 7 Cherry Lane,” Yonfan
Special Jury Prize: “The Mafia Is No Longer What It Used to Be,” Franco Maresco
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Young Actor: Toby Wallace, “Babyteeth”
HORIZONS COMPETITION (ORIZZONTI)
Best Film: “Atlantis,” Valentyn Vasyanovych
Best Director: Théo Court, “White on White”
Special Jury Prize: “Verdict,” Raymund Ribas Gutierrez
Best Actress: Marta Nieto, “Madre”
Best Actor: Sami Bouajila, “A Son”
Best Screenplay: “Back Home,” Jessica Palud, Philippe Lioret and Diastème
Best Short Film: “Darling,” Saim Sadiq
LION OF THE FUTURE
Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature: “You Will Die at Twenty,” Amjad Abu Alala
VENICE CLASSICS
Best Restored Film: “Ecstasy,” Gustav Machatý
Best Documentary on Cinema: “Babenco – Alguém Tem Que Ouvir O Coração E Dizer: Parou,” Bárbara Paz
VIRTUAL REALITY COMPETITION
Best Virtual Reality: Céline Tricart, “The Key”
Best Virtual Reality Experience: “A Linha,” Ricardo Laganaro
Best Virtual Reality Story: “Daughters of Chibok,” Joel Kachi Benson
