The 74th Venice Film Festival wrapped on Saturday September 9, with an awards ceremony, during which The Shape of Water, by Guillermo del Toro, was honored with the Golden Lion. But many French films were also amongst the award-winners, including Custody, an incredibly intense family drama. Xavier Legrand's debut feature left the Lido with two prestigious awards.
Xavier Legrand received the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Luigi de Laurentiis - Lion of the Future for a Debut Film. The director, clearly moved, was accompanied by his actors Denis Ménochet and Thomas Gioria.
Another major award: the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor went to Kamel El Basha, one of the two leads of The Insult by Ziad Doueiri. Charlotte Rampling received the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress for her performance in Hannah, a monority French production by Andrea Pallaoro.
Another minority French production, Foxtrot, by Samuel Maoz, won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize.
In the Orizzonti section, three French films were awarded: Caniba, Oblivion Verses, and The Blessed, but it was in the short film realm that we must applaud the performance of the latest film by Céline Devaux, You Will Be Fine, which was awarded the prize for the Best Short Film, as well as the nomination for the European Film Awards 2017.
Last but not least, International Critics' Week gave the SIAE Audience Award to Hunting Season by Natalia Garagiola (minority French coproduction), and honored Garçons sauvages by Bertrand Mandico the Mario Serandrei - Hotel Saturnia Prize for Best Technical Contribution.
Awards:
- Silver Lion - Best Director: Xavier Legrand for Custody by Xavier Legrand
- Coppa Volpi fo Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling for her performance in Hannah by Andrea Pallaoro
- Grand Jury Prize: Foxtrot by Samuel Maoz
- Luigi de Laurentiis - Lion of the Future for a Debut Film: Custody de Xavier Legrand
- Coppa Volpi for Best Actor: Kamel El Basha for his performance in The Insult by Ziad Doueiri
- Silver Lion for Best Short: You Will Be Fine by Céline Devaux
- Nomination for the European Film Awards: You Will Be Fine by Céline Devaux
- Orizzonti - Special Jury Prize: Caniba by Verena Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
- Orizzonti - Best Screenplay: Oblivion Verses by Alireza Khatami
- Orizzonti - Best Actress: Lyna Khoudri for her performance in The Blessed by Sofia Djama
All the awards can be found here.
