Spotlight | 2013 International Film Festivals: The 70th Venice International Film Festival
MOVIE | 70th Venice International Film Festival
The Fastest Report on Award-Winning Films!
Among the world's three major film festivals, the Venice International Film Festival boasts the longest history. This year, a jury of nine, including master director Bernardo Bertolucci andRyuichi Sakamotoselected the award-winning films from a pool of 20 entries. The 70th anniversary was marked by a series of surprises.
First, two directors announced their retirements during the festival: Hayao Miyazaki of "The Wind Rises" and Tsai Ming-liang of "Stray Dogs." In the film industry, where many directors pursue a lifelong career, announcing retirement is unusual. As soon as the news broke, many voices expressed regret over their premature departures. Then came surprises at the awards ceremony. Highly anticipated films such as Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin," starring Scarlett Johansson, and Kelly Reichardt's "Night Moves" went home empty-handed. Instead, "Sacro GRA," which critics had largely overlooked, and "Miss Violence," the second feature film by emerging director Alexandros Avranas, were selected. This can be seen as a "production" befitting director Bertolucci, who stated, "I want to choose films that surprise me."
Text by OPENERSPhotographs by Venice Film Festival
Competition Section: Golden Lion
"Sacro GRA"
Country of Production | Italy, France
Director | Gianfranco Rosi
A Feat After 15 Years!
In 2008, Gianfranco Rosi won the Orizzonti Award for Best Documentary at the Venice International Film Festival. With "Sacro GRA," a documentary that left all jury members "overwhelmed by its poetic beauty," according to director Bertolucci, he brought the Golden Lion back to Italy for the first time in 15 years. For this film, Rosi spent two years documenting life along Rome's massive ring road, the GRA. His camera focused on the daily lives of people living around the GRA, such as a nobleman and his daughter living a refined life in a small studio apartment, and fishermen catching eels in the Tiber River. Through the screen, he reveals a side of Rome we never knew.
Competition Section: Silver Lion (Best Director)
Alexandros Avranas
"Miss Violence"
Country of Production | Greece
Secrets Hidden Behind the Door
On the eve of her 11th birthday, a young girl jumped from her balcony and committed suicide. When the police investigated, the family repeatedly insisted, "It was an accident." What drove her to take her own life? As the story unfolds, the secrets hidden behind the door are gradually revealed. With "Miss Violence," Alexandros Avranas achieved a remarkable feat, being recognized with the Best Director award at one of the three major film festivals for his second feature film.
Competition Section: Grand Jury Prize
"Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs)"
Country of Production | Taiwan, France
Director | Tsai Ming-liang
Director Ming-liang's Final Feature Film
Since his second feature, "Rebels of the Neon God," won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 1994, director Tsai Ming-liang has garnered a distinguished list of international awards. On September 5th, a shockwave went through the festival venue: "Making commercial films (in the current climate) goes against my artistic beliefs," he announced, stating that "Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs)" would be his last film. His retirement at the relatively young age of 55, so sudden and unexpected, is likely to remain a topic of discussion long after the festival concludes. Thus, "Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs)," became director Ming-liang's final feature film. The protagonist is a man who makes a meager living from his job as a billboard holder, sleeping in abandoned buildings in Taipei at night with his two children. The camera follows their lives, living like stray dogs in a corner of the metropolis.
Competition Section: Special Jury Prize
"Die Frau des Polizisten (The Police Officer’s Wife)"
Country of Production | Germany
Director | Philip Groning
Competition Section: Best Actor
Themis Panou
"Miss Violence"
Country of Production | Greece
Director | Alexandros Avranas
Competition Section: Best Actress
Elena Cotta
"Via Castellana Bandiera (A Street in Palermo)"
Country of Production | Italy, Switzerland, France
Director | Emma Dante
Competition Section: Best Screenplay
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
"Philomena"
Country of Production | United Kingdom
Director | Stephen Frears
