The 81st Venice Film Festival concluded on Saturday, following a grand award ceremony. Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was honoured with the coveted Golden Lion for The Room Next Door , which starred Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. “This is my first movie in English but the spirit is Spanish,” the Spanish filmmaker said in his acceptance speech.
Almodóvar was last awarded an honorary one in 2019. Meanwhile, director Brady Corbet bagged the Silver Lion for his 3h15m-long film post-WWII film The Brutalist , which starred Adrien Brody. Nicole Kidman was awarded the Best Actress award for Halina Reijn’s thriller Babygirl .
Unfortunately, Kidman could not receive the award herself upon sudden news of her mother's death. Reijn accepted the award on her behalf and read out a message from the actress, which stated, “Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after that my brave and beautiful mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. I’m in shock and I have to go to my family.
But this award is for her." "She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina.
The collision of life and art is heartbreaking. My heart is broken,” the statement concluded. Corbet, who was called to the stage right after to accept his Best Director award for The Brutalist , offered his condolences to Kidman.
The 81st edition’s jury was presided over by Isabelle Huppert and comprised of filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz, and actress Zhang Ziyi. Golden Lion for Best Film: The Room Next Door , Pedro Almodóvar Grand Jury Prize: Vermiglio , Maura Delpero Silver Lion for Best Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist Special Jury Prize: April , Dea Kulumbegashvili Best Screenplay: Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega, I’m Still Here Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Vincent Lindon, The Quiet Son Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: Paul Kircher, And their Children After Them Best Film: The New Year That Never Came , Bogdan Mureşanu Best Director: Sarah Friedland, Familiar Touch Special Jury Prize: One of Those Days When Hemme Dies , Murat Firatoglu Best Actress: Kathleen Chalfant, Familiar Touch Best Actor: Francesco Gheghi, Familia Best Screenplay: Scandar Copti, Happy Holidays Best Short Film: Who Loves the Sun , Arshia Shakiba Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature: Familiar Touch , Sarah Friedland Audience Award: The Witness , Nader Saeivar Best Documentary on Cinema: Chain Reactions , Alexandre O. Philippe Best Restored Film: Ecce Bombo , Nanni Moretti Grand Jury Prize: Ito Meikyu , Boris Labbé Special Jury Prize: Oto’s Planet , Gwenael François Achievement Prize: Impulse: Playing With Reality , Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla GdA Director’s Award: Manas , Marianna Brennand Audience Award: Taxi Monamour , Ciro De Caro Europa Cinemas Label Award: Alpha , Jan-Willem van Ewijk Grand Prize: Don’t Cry, Butterfly , Dương Diệu Linh Special Mention: No Sleep Till , Alexandra Simpson Audience Award: Paul & Paulette Take a Bath , Jethro Massey Verona Film Club Award for Most Innovative Film: Don’t Cry, Butterfly , Dương Diệu Linh Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for Best Technical Contribution: Homegrown , Michael Premo Best Short Film: Things That My Best Friend Lost , Marta Innocenti Best Director (Short Film): Nero Argento , Francesco Manzato Best Technical Contribution (Short Film): At Least I Will Be 8 294 400 Pixel , Marco Talarico.
