WINNERS OF THE 2022 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

This year's Venice Film Festival has ended with Laura Poitras receiving the top prize of the Golden Lion for her latest non-fiction work, "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed". This is only the second time in this International fest's long-running history that a documentary has won this award (following "Sacro Gra" by Gianfranco Rosi in 2013) and the Oscar-winner Poitras has become the third female filmmaker in a row to win this honor. "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" examines photographer, Nan Goldin's legal battle against the Sackler family for her becoming addicted to their opioids.

The rest of the top prizes went to only a handful of other films; Luca Guadagnino received Best Director for his coming-of-age romantic-horror film, "Bones and All' with the co-star of the film, Taylor Russell winning the Best Young Actor prize. Cate Blanchett received her second Volpi Cup for Best Actress (which she won fifteen years ago for playing Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There") for her mesmerizing turn as a tempestuous, classical music conductor in Todd Field's "Tár", his first feature film in sixteen years. Colin Farrell won for Best Actor for his work in Martin McDonagh's black comedy, "The Banshees of Inisherin" with the director receiving the Best Screenplay prize for the film. And Alice Diop, the French-Senegalese filmmaker who has made her name making several well-received documentaries, received the runner-up prize of Best Film for her first narrative film, "Saint Omer". This story about a pregnant novelist doing research for a book at the trial of a Senegalese woman accused of murdering her baby also won Diop the award for Best Debut Feature.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 2022 Venice Film Festival:

Golden Lion for Best Film: "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed"
Grand Jury Prize: "Saint Omer"
Silver Lion for Best Director: Luca Guadagnino, "Bones and All"
Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature: Alice Diop, "Saint Omer"
Special Jury Prize: "No Bears"



Best Screenplay: Martin McDonagh, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Tár"
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Colin Farrell, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: Taylor Russell, "Bones and All"

Orizzonti (Horizon) Awards:

Best Film: "World War III"



Best Director: Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, "Vera"
Best Screenplay: Fernando Guzzoni, "Blanquita"



Special Jury Prize: "Bread and Salt"



Best Actress: Vera Gemma, "Vera"
Best Actor: Mohsen Tanabandeh, "World War III"
Best Short Film: "Snow in September"