Alexander Payne defends awarding the Golden Lion to Jarmusch’s film instead of The Voice of Hind Rajab
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Alexander Payne, president of the jury at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, defended the decision to award the Golden Lion to Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother rather than The Voice of Hind Rajab, which tells the story of a Palestinian child’s killing. The Voice of Hind Rajab broke this year’s record with a 22-minute standing ovation and was named best film of the festival by both international and Italian critics.
Speaking at a press conference Saturday night after the awards ceremony, Payne said: “Being at a festival always comes with this injustice, of saying one film is better than another. But it isn’t. As jurors, we value both films equally, each for different reasons. And we hope both will have a long and cherished life, and that tonight’s support will help them, each in its own way.”
He continued: “Look, if we had voted a day earlier or later, the result might have been different… As I said, we see both films as equally valuable and wish them success. And if one of them had been meant to receive another award, there was a 0.000001 percent chance we would have made the same decision.”
The jury also included French filmmaker and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé, Italian director and writer Maura Delpero, Romanian filmmaker, writer and producer Cristian Mungiu, Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof, Brazilian actress, writer and screenwriter Fernanda Torres, and Chinese actress Zhao Tao.
Payne also responded to rumors that one of the jury members had threatened to resign: “A juror threatened to resign? Did I threaten? No. Did anyone? No. We all know that not everything you read online should be believed.”
On the omission of No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook, Payne added: “I can’t reveal the process of selecting the winners, but of course we discussed his film. We liked it, but ultimately it didn’t make it into the final eight, and that disappointed us.”
