News from Italy
Jarmusch wins the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival
Vita Gazette – The Golden Lion goes to Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother.” The Silver Lion goes to “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” Servillo won Best Actor for Paolo Sorrentino’s “La grazia.” Best Actress went to Xin Zhilei for the Chinese director Cai Shangjun’s “Ri Gua Zhong Tian.”
The closing ceremony of the 2025 Venice Film Festival: After eleven days of screenings, red carpets, standing ovations, and discussions, the most anticipated moment has arrived: the awarding of the Golden Lion, the Silver Lion, and the Coppa Volpi. The winners were decided by the International Jury, chaired by American director and screenwriter Alexander Payne, joined by Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres, and Zhao Tao.
The evening wasn’t solely a celebration of cinema. It was also a platform for political discourse. The ongoing situation in Gaza and the flotilla’s efforts to deliver aid to Palestine were prominent themes in the speeches from the stage. Nearly all the award winners, holding their Lions or Cups, felt compelled to express solidarity and condemnation, turning the Festival’s closing into a collective call for action.
It’s true that film festival juries, whose unquestionable decisions are often unpredictable, have the power to overturn the meaning of an entire selection. This is precisely what happened yesterday at the Venice Film Festival, one of the most prestigious and influential film festivals in the world. The Golden Lion, the festival’s highest honor, went to Jim Jarmusch’s Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, a refined divertissement about family relationships, full of grief, misunderstandings, secrets, lies, and embarrassment. However, it’s certainly not the most beautiful, interesting, or significant film presented this year.
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother is a charming film that, with a subtle touch of irony, delves into the complexities of family relationships in three distinct episodes. These episodes vividly portray the hypocrisies and unspoken truths that can erode family bonds, where children often surpass their parents. In the first episode, an absent father and bon vivant, the exceptional Tom Waits, pretends to lead a modest life in front of his two visiting children, Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik, who are almost strangers to him. The second episode follows twins Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat as they meet in Paris to bid farewell to the house where their hippie parents lived after a tragic accident. The final episode features Charlotte Rampling as a mother who shows little interest in the lives of her two daughters, Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps, and is fixated on the annual tea ceremony that brings them together.
In his speech, Jim Jarmusch says, “Art doesn’t have to be about politics to be political. Empathy is the first way to fix the problems we’re facing.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab by Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, a film that moved hundreds of festival-goers with its harrowing story of a little girl victim of the Gaza massacres, secured the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize. The film, which tells the tragic story of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl shot by Israeli forces in a car with her family while they were trying to flee Gaza City in early 2024, was a resounding success at the festival earlier this week. It received a record-breaking 23-minute and 40-second standing ovation at its premiere in the Sala Grande, a testament to its impact and recognition by the audience.
“I dedicate this world to the Palestine Red Crescent and to all those who risked everything to save lives in Gaza. They are true heroes. Hind’s voice is the voice of Gaza itself, a cry for help that the entire world heard, but no one answered,” said Ben Hania.
The award for best director, a prestigious recognition in the film industry, goes to another American, Benny Safdie. In his film, The Smashing Machine, Safdie casts Dwayne Johnson in the role of a mixed martial arts fighter forced to come to terms with his own body and a turbulent romantic relationship.
Celebrating Italy, which won the Coppa Volpi thanks to Toni Servillo’s splendid performance in Paolo Sorrentino’s La grazia (The Grace). In this film, Servillo plays an Italian president grappling with his imminent return home and various moral dilemmas, a role that showcases his exceptional acting skills.
Toni Servillo plays Mariano De Santis, the fictional president of the Italian Republic. Servillo, as always, excels at conveying the president’s unique qualities, which are sure to intrigue the audience.
In his speech, the Italian actor said: “And I also feel, on behalf of a sentiment that the entire Italian cinema community is feeling right now, to express my admiration for those who today decided to set sail, reach Palestine, and bring a sign of humanity to a land where humanity is vilified daily.”
The Volpi Cup for Best Actress was awarded to Xin Zhilei for Ri Gua Zhong Tian, directed by Chinese director Cai Shangjun. This win not only recognizes Zhilei’s talent but also highlights the growing influence of the Chinese film industry on the global stage. In the film, two young people fall in love and accidentally kill someone, with one of them shouldering the burden of guilt. They meet again years later by chance in a hospital and rekindle a bitter yet mutually necessary bond. Xin Zhilei, an influencer at a second-rate clothing store, perfectly captures the overwhelming weight of gratitude, the impossible reparation, the need for forgiveness, and, ultimately, the sacrifice that fails to lead to justice. The Sun Rises on Us All, with its intense drama, touches on the relationship between guilt, crime, and will.
The screenplay award went to À pied d’œuvre, a film written by director Valérie Donzelli and Gilles Marchand. The film tells the story of a successful photographer who gives up wealth and fame to become a writer.
Young Luna Wedler is this year’s best emerging director and wins the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Silent Friend by Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi, a film about the profound interconnection between humans and the plant world.
Italian director Gianfranco Rosi’s Sotto le nuvole, a black-and-white work that uniquely tells the story of Naples, blending documentary and poetry, won the Special Jury Prize.
Benedetta Porcaroli, who won Best Actress in Orizzonti for The Kidnapping of Arabella, dedicated her award to the Flotilla. Her heartfelt words, “I dedicate this award with all my love to our friends on the Flotilla. They remind us that it’s not all over and that there’s a reason to get up in the morning, and it’s called humanity,” serve as a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit.
In the Orizzonti section, the award for Best Actor goes to Giacomo Covi for the film Un anno di scuola, directed by Laura Samani.
In the Orizzonti section, the Best Director Award goes to Anuparna Roy for Songs of Forgotten Trees, a film that delves into the plight of the Palestinian people. In contrast, the Special Jury Prize goes to Harà Watan, by Akio Fujimoto, a film that also touches on the issue of Palestine. Both films express their support for Palestine, an an award in hand. “I want to talk about the catastrophe unfolding in Palestine. All children have the right to live in peace. Everyone must take a moment to show their support for Palestine,” said Anuparna Roy.
The Best Film award went to En el camino, directed by David Pablos. This film, too, carries a message of solidarity with Palestine. “Long live cinema, long live Palestine,” the director concluded, emphasizing the film’s connection to the social issues highlighted at the festival.
The festival has already been enriched with a plethora of awards, from the esteemed Golden Lion (awarded to Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, which also received a Cinema for UNICEF mention) to the accolades from the International Critics’ Week and the Venice Days, to the Soundtrack Stars Award for Pietro Marcello’s Duse (with a special mention for Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia). The festival also paid tribute to two giants with Lifetime Achievement Awards: Kim Novak and Werner Herzog.
Nino D’Angelo, a poignant guest at the awards ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival, delivered a stirring performance of the song “Hate and Tears,” which left a profound impact on the audience.
“In Ukraine, in Palestine, when children are killed, they kill the future of all of us.”
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, closed the ceremony with a video message: “We are experiencing a climate of profound, increasingly radical hatred between the Israeli and Palestinian populations. The violence we are witnessing is the result of years of violent language. This war must end as soon as possible; it’s time to bring it to a close. But the end of the war will not mark the end of the conflict, only of hostilities. We must create a different narrative.”
Before the Armani Beauty Audience Award, Emanuela Fanelli, host of the Venice Film Festival, remembered Giorgio Armani, who recently passed away, and the audience erupted in a prolonged round of applause.
We want to remember Giorgio Armani with great affection.” These few words, spoken by Emanuela Fanelli at the awards ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival, were enough to evoke emotion that brought the entire audience of guests and award recipients in the Sala Grande to their feet. A moving and united standing ovation in memory of Giorgio Armani, “Italy’s pride in the world, a master of art and beauty, with an unmistakable vision of elegance and style, and above all a kind person. He immediately understood the importance of the union between fashion and cinema and has always been close to the Venice Film Festival.”