All Beauty and Blood, directed by Laura Poitras, was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Picture by the competition jury led by Julianne Moore at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Saturday. This film about photographer Nan Goldin is a rare Golden Lion-winning documentary that beats out strong competitors.
“I have never met anyone like Nunn,” Poitras said in her acceptance speech, praising Goldin as “courageous” in her protest against the Sackler family, which Poitras described as “ruthless”. The film examines Goldin’s art, life, and her activism as she protests against her family and OxyContin makers, Purdue Pharma, for their role in the opioid crisis. Poitras, who won Best Documentary for her 2014 film Citizen Four, thanked the film festival for acknowledging that “documentary is cinema.”
Poitras also called for the release of imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who directed “No Bears,” which premiered at the festival, and encouraged “all of us to do whatever we can.” She also spoke about her memory of the late Diane Wearman, an influential documentary executive.
The 79th edition of the festival kicked off with Noah Baumbach’s White Noise, an adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig. Other notable films include ‘The Whale’, ‘Blonde’, ‘Tar’, ‘Bones and All’, ‘Banshee of Inisherin’, ‘Anne Couple’, ‘Bald’, ‘Son’, There is such a thing as “eternal daughter”.
Unlike many other film festivals, the Venice Film Festival has been held in person for the past two years despite the pandemic. This year, however, the Venetian event was particularly successful. Stars like Timothée Chalamet and Ana de Armas captivated huge crowds and there was no shortage of critical debates and red carpet talking points. (Still, Covid remained present. Missing the ceremony was one of the competition judges, novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, who said Moore had tested positive. explained.)
The Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize went to Alice Diop’s ‘Saint Omer’. The film is based on a true story about a novelist who becomes engrossed in the trial of a woman accused of leaving her baby to die on the beach. The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for ‘Bones and All’, the first Italian director to win the Lion Award.
The Special Jury Prize went to Panahi for ‘No Bears’. His award was accepted in his absence by the film’s two actors, Mina Cavani and Reza Heydari.
The Volpi Cup for Best Actress went to Cate Blanchett for her portrayal of the famous fictional composer in Todd Field’s “Tar.” Best Actor went to Colin Farrell for playing an Irishman who abruptly ends his friendship with his friend in Martin McDonagh’s Banshees of Inisherin. Taylor Russell won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Outstanding Emerging Actor for his performance as a young cannibal in “Bones and All.”
Best Original Screenplay went to McDonagh, who wrote and directed ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and won the same award in 2017 for ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’. Diop’s “Saint Omer” also won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut. (Diop has already directed an acclaimed feature film called We, the documentary that won the highest award at the Berlin Film Festival.)
In the Orizzonti category of awards, which runs alongside the first competition, top honors went to Iranian filmmaker Hauman Sadie’s ‘World War III’. The film also featured winning Best Actor for Mohsen Thanabande, who played the lead character.
This edition of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement went to Paul Schrader and Catherine Deneuve for their out-of-competition performance of The Master Gardener. Cartier Glory Filmmaker His Award went to Walter Hill. Walter Hill’s film Dead for a Dollar ran without competition.