Winners of the Venice Film Festival: Bahram Beyzaie Honored for Bashu; Jarmusch Wins Golden Lion for Father Mother Sister Brother

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, the 82nd Venice Film Festival concluded Saturday night with the Golden Lion awarded to Jim Jarmusch for his film Father Mother Sister Brother.

Iranian filmmaker Bahram Beyzaie received the prize for Best Restored Film for Bashu, the Little Stranger, while Negar Motavalli Meydan Shah won the Special Jury Prize for Less Than 5gr of Saffron.

Upon receiving her award, Motavalli said:

“I dream of a time when no child from any land—neither mine, Iran, nor anywhere else—will be forced into exile. I hope that day comes soon.”

Mohammad Rasoulof, a member of this year’s competition jury, read Beyzaie’s message:

“It has been exactly forty years since we filmed Bashu, the Little Stranger in northern and southern Iran. It was a hot summer, much like now, and any word not glorifying the war was forbidden and threatened. But was offering refuge to a migrant child of war also forbidden? With this film, my colleagues struck at the roots of my career at Kanoon. The film was shelved for nearly four years. Yet today, forty years later, with all humility, I salute the victims of that meaningless eight-year war. And my curse remains upon all profiteers of every war.”

Indian director Anuparna Roy, who won Best Director in the Horizons section for Songs of Forgotten Trees, expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine:

“Every child deserves peace, freedom, and liberation, and Palestine is no exception. I don’t want applause for saying this. Perhaps it will upset my country, but I no longer care.”

Mexican filmmaker David Pablos, who won Best Film in Horizons for On the Road, also voiced support for Palestine. Later in the ceremony, the audience gave a standing ovation in memory of Giorgio Armani, who had passed away just days before.

The Armani Beauty Audience Award went to Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga. In her speech, she too remembered the people of Palestine:

“The joy I feel is profound, but so is my grief, because like so many others, I cannot forget the horror inflicted every minute and every second on the people of Gaza and Palestine… We wipe away our tears and refuse to lose our humanity. Politics may fail, but art will always be a home for justice, freedom, and humanity.”

Nastia Korkia, who won Best Debut Film for Short Summer, reminded the audience that 1,291 days had passed since the start of the war in Ukraine:

“War destroys society from within. I hope we open our eyes and find the strength to stop it.”

Benny Safdie later received the Silver Lion for Best Director for The Smashing Machine, calling his new film with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt “an exercise in radical empathy” and adding:

“The need for empathy today is greater than ever.”

Kaouther Ben Hania was awarded the Grand Jury Prize Silver Lion for The Voice of Hind Rajab. In an emotional speech, she dedicated the honor to the Palestinian Red Crescent:

“Hind’s voice was a plea for rescue that the whole world could hear, yet no one answered. Her voice will echo until accountability and justice are delivered. Cinema cannot bring her back or undo the cruelty inflicted upon her, but it can protect her voice. This is not just Hind’s story; it is the story of a regime that commits crimes with impunity. May Hind’s soul rest in peace, may sleep never come to her killers, and may Palestine be free.”

Jim Jarmusch then took the stage, sunglasses on, to accept the Golden Lion for Father Mother Sister Brother. Overcome with excitement, he let slip a curse word before continuing:

“Competition isn’t what drives us filmmakers, but I’m grateful for this award.”

He praised Venice as “a mysterious city” and “the city of Casanova, Vivaldi, and Terence Hill,” and agreed with Safdie that art doesn’t need to speak directly about politics to be political:

“It can create empathy, which is our first step toward solving problems.”

Jarmusch ended his speech by recalling Akira Kurosawa’s words upon receiving his honorary Oscar:

“He said he was worried that he still didn’t know how to make films. I feel the same way—I’m always learning.”

Before the ceremony, The Voice of Hind Rajab had already been ranked the festival’s best film by both international and Italian critics. Last year, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door won the Golden Lion.

Full List of Winners – 82nd Venice Film Festival

Main Competition

• Best Young Actor: Luna Wedler, Silent Friend
• Special Jury Prize: Gianfranco Rosi, Sotto le nuvole (Under the Clouds)
• Best Screenplay: Valérie Donzelli & Gilles Marchand, At Work (À Pied d’Oeuvre)
• Best Actor: Toni Servillo, La Grazia (The Grace)
• Best Actress: Xin Zhilei, The Sun Rises on Us All
• Silver Lion for Best Director: Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine
• Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: Kaouther Ben Hania, The Voice of Hind Rajab
• Golden Lion for Best Film: Jim Jarmusch, Father Mother Sister Brother
• Armani Beauty Audience Award: Maryam Touzani, Calle Málaga
• Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Film: Nastia Korkia, Short Summer

Horizons (Orizzonti)

• Best Short Film: Without Kelly, Lovisa Sirén
• Best Screenplay: Hiedra (The Ivy), Ana Cristina Barragán
• Best Actor: Giacomo Covi, Un Anno di Scuola (A Year of School)
• Best Actress: Benedetta Porcaroli, Il Rapimento di Arabella (The Kidnapping of Arabella)
• Special Jury Prize: Harà Watan (Lost Land), Akio Fujimoto
• Best Director: Anuparna Roy, Songs of Forgotten Trees
• Best Film: On the Road, David Pablos

Venice Classics

• Best Documentary on Cinema: Mata Hari – Joe Beshencofsky & James A. Smith
• Best Restored Film: Bashu, the Little Stranger – Bahram Beyzaie

Venice Immersive

• Grand Jury Prize: The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up – Singing Chen
• Special Jury Prize: Less Than 5gr of Saffron – Negar Motavalli Meydan Shah
• Achievement Award: A Long Goodbye – Kate Woot and Victor Maas