VENICE — All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a documentary about US photographer Nan Goldin and her fight against the wealthy Sackler family, won the top Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
Made by investigative journalist Laura Poitras, the film interweaves the remarkable story of Ms. Goldin’s life with her campaign to hold the Sacklers and their pharmaceutical firm accountable for the US opioid crisis.
It is only the second time in the 79-year history of the film festival, often seen as a launch pad for Oscar hopefuls, that the main prize has gone to a documentary.
The best actress award went to Australian Cate Blanchett for her performance in TÁR, while the best actor award was given to Ireland’s Colin Farrell for his part in the tragicomedy The Banshee of Inisherin.
The runner-up Grand Jury prize went to an intense French courtroom drama Saint Omer, by director Alice Diop making her debut in fiction after a string of documentaries.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed beat out a string of more high-profile rivals, including a quartet of movies by US streaming giant Netflix and well-considered European dramas.
The documentary draws on many of Ms. Goldin’s images from her acclaimed slide show, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, which documented New York subcultures from 1979-1986.
But Ms. Goldin says her career almost came to an end in 2014 when she got addicted to the OxyContin painkiller, made by the Sackler’s Purdue Pharma, which was given after an operation.
Purdue Pharma allegedly downplayed the addiction risks of OxyContin, helping to fuel a healthcare crisis that has claimed more than 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over two decades. It filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
The Sacklers have denied wrongdoing but said in March that they “sincerely regret” that OxyContin “unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis.”
Ms. Goldin has fought a years-long battle to get museums to stop taking money from the family, saying they should not be allowed to buy respectability through “toxic philanthropy.”
“I have known a lot of brave and courageous people in my life, but I have never met anyone like Nan, somebody who could decide to take on the billionaire Sackler family,” director Ms. Poitras said as she collected the Golden Lion.
“She goes to the depths of her soul and shares things with us that most people don’t share with the people they are closest to, let alone to a public like this.”
JAILED IRANIAN HONOREDSaturday’s ceremony wrapped up the 11-day movie marathon, which drew an array of stars to the Venice red carpet — including Timothee Chalamet, Ana de Armas, Sadie Sink, Harry Styles, Florence Pugh, Penelope Cruz, and Christoph Waltz.
Among other prizes handed out were a special Jury’s Award for No Bears, by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who is serving a six-year prison term back home.
Best director went to Italy’s Luca Guadagnino for his cannibal love story Bones and All, and its young star Taylor Russell got the award for the best emerging actor or actress.
Best screenplay went to Martin McDonagh, for The Banshee of Inisherin, which he also directed. He won the same recognition in Venice for his 2017 feature Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. — Reuters
HERE’s the list of winners from the 79th Venice Film Festival, which was held in Venice, Italy, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10.
COMPETITION• Golden Lion for Best Film:All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, directed by Laura Poitras
• Grand Jury Prize: Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop
• Silver Lion for Best Director: Luca Guadagnino for Bones and All
• Special Jury Prize: No Bears, directed by Jafar Panahi
• Best Screenplay: The Banshees of Inisherin, written and directed by Martin McDonagh
• Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Cate Blanchett for her work in Tár
• Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Colin Farrell for his work in The Banshees of Inisherin
• Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: Taylor Russell for her work in Bones and All
HORIZONS• Best Film:World War III, directed by Houman Seyyedi
• Best Director: Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel for Vera
• Special Jury Prize: Bread and Salt, directed by Damian Kocur
• Best Actress: Vera Gemma for her work in Vera
• Best Actor: Mohsen Tanabandeh for his work in World War III
• Best Screenplay: Blanquita, written by Fernando Guzzoni
• Best Short Film: Snow in September, directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
LION OF THE FUTURE• Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature:Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop
HORIZONS EXTRA• Audience Award:Nezouh, directed by Soudade Kaadan
