A prestigious Italian film festival, the 80th Venice Film Festival handed out the Golden Lion to Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things.”

The Greek filmmaker’s latest, which also stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, is based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name and follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a creation of the brilliant and unorthodox scientist played by Dafoe in an echo of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein. Ruffalo plays a slick and debauched lawyer.

“The Favourite” Director gave his acceptance speech, he praised Emma Stone’s performance, “Above all, this film is the central character of Isabella Baxter, this incredible creature, and she wouldn’t exist without Emma Stone, another incredible creature. This film is her, in front and behind the camera.

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Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, an Oscar winner last year for his Chekhov-inspired intimate epic “Drive My Car,” won the Grand Jury Prize for “Evil Does Not Exist,” a thorny parable protesting capitalist development of rural environments that drew much admiration from critics. 

Italian director Matteo Garrone won the best director award for his migration drama, “Me Captain,” while newcomer Seydou Sarr won the best young actor award for his performance of a Senegalese teenager who leaves home on a quest to reach Europe.

Cailee Spaeny won best actress for her portrayal of Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppla’s latest film, “Priscilla,” while Peter Sarsgaard won best actor for Michel Franco’s Memory, playing a man suffering from dementia. 

Polish director Agnieszka Holland won a special jury award for her film, “Green Border,” her harrowing drama on the plight of refugees caught on the border between Belarus and Poland. Members of Poland’s far-right government, including Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro have attacked Holland online for the film, comparing it to “Nazi propaganda.” The director says she Will sue for defamation if Ziobro does not formally apologize and retract his comments.

Saturday at the Sala Grande, the jury headed up by president Damien Chazelle revealed the winners of the 2023 competition awards. Jurors including Martin McDonagh, Jane Campion, and Mia Hansen-Løve saw 23 movies over the last week and a half.

 

Here’s the winners

Golden Lion
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos

Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Silver Lion Best Director
Matteo Garrone, Io Capitano

Special Jury Prize
Green Border, Agnieszka Holland

Best Screenplay
Pablo Larrain and Guillermo Calderón, El Conde

Best Actress
Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla

Best Actor
Peter Sarsgaard, Memory

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Seydou Sarr, Io Capitano

HORIZONS
Best Film
Explanation For Everything, Gábor Reisz

Best Director
Mika Gustafson, Paradise Is Burning

Special Jury Prize
Una Sterminata Domenica, Alain Parroni

Best Actress
Margarita Rosa De Francisco, El Paraiso

Best Actor
Tergel Bold-Erdene, City of Wind

Best Screenplay
El Paraiso, Enrico Maria Artale

Best Short Film
A Short Trip, Erenik Beqiri

Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film
Love Is A Gun, Lee Hong-Chi

HORIZONS EXTRA
Audience Award
FELICITÀ (HAPPINESS), Micaela Ramazzotti

VENICE CLASSICS

Best Documentary
Thank You Very Much, Alex Braverman

Best Restored Film
OHIKKOSHI (MOVING), Shinji Somai

VENICE IMMERSIVE

Grand Jury Prize
Songs For A Passerby, Celine Daemen

Special Jury Prize
Flow, Adriaan Lokman

Immersive Achievement Prize
Emperor, Marion Burger, Ilan Cohen