Russian film 'Faust' wins Golden Lion in Venice

Alexander Sokurov

Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday for Faust, a visceral take on Goethe's play which explores the theme of corrupting power.

"There are films which make you dream, which make you cry, laugh and think, and there are films which change your life forever. This is one of those films," said jury head Darren Aronofki, saying the decision had been unanimous.
Beating 22 other films to the prize, the stomach-turning movie is the final instalment of Sokurov's cinematic tetralogy on the nature of power, following his acclaimed portraits of Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin and Emperor Hirohito.
Sokurov is the second Russian director ever to win the Golden Lion, after it was awarded to Andrei Zviaguintsev for The Return in 2003.
"Making auteur cinema is very difficult these days," the St Petersburg-based director said, adding that he was "very happy to live in a Europe where we can understand each other".
The Silver Lion director award went to China's Cai Shangjun for his revenge tale People Mountain People Sea, this year's surprise addition to the festival line-up, in which a man ceaselessly hunts down his brother's killer.
The film has been censured in China, as it reveals the appalling conditions in a Chinese mine.
As expected, best actor went to German-born Irishman Michael Fassbender, who plays an emotionally dysfunctional executive addicted to sex in Steve McQueen's powerful Shame.
Rising star Fassbender - of Inglorious Basterds and Hunger fame - also appeared in another film in the competition this year, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, where he played psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Best actress went to Deanie Yip for her portrayal of an elderly maid in a moving tale of the trials of growing old gracefully, A Simple Life.
The jury at the world's oldest film festival also included US director Todd Haynes, Finnish Eija-Liisa Ahtila, British David Byrne, Italian Mario Martone and Alba Rohrwacher, and French Andre Techine.
The punted favourites - Roman Polanski's grotesque comedy of manners Carnage and George Clooney's political thriller The Ides Of March -went home empty-handed, as did Tomas Alfredson's much praised Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy.
Terraferma, Emanuele Crialese's tale of fishermen from a tiny Italian island who rescue a group of African refugees from drowning at sea, won the special jury prize for "combining social problems with great storytelling".
The theme of immigration inspired several Italian films in this year's program, and saw Giudo Lombardi win the prize for best film in a parallel section for La-bas.
For their tale of the struggle for survival in a post-tsunami Japan, Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido won the awards for best young actor and actress in Japanese director Sion Sono's Himizu, which was based on a manga comic strip.
Best screenplay went to Alps, Yorgos Lanthimos' a tale of actors who try to help people grieve by playing the role of their recently deceased loved ones.
Robbie Ryan was awarded the prize for best photography for Wuthering Heights by Britain's Andrea Arnold, a dark adaptation of the tragic love story between Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Bronte's well-loved novel.
With no musical score, the film is a visual feast for the senses as it portrays the characters' turmoil through the lashing wind and rain, darkness and harshness of elements up on the Yorkshire moors in northern England.
Twenty-three films competed in all in the Mostra, which saw a host of stars arrive by speed boat for the red carpet in the lagoon city, from Madonna to Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and The Godfather star Al Pacino.

Deanie Ip

Michael Fassbender

Darren Aronofsky

Prizes

• Leone d'Oro (Golden Lion) for the best film: Faust
• Leone d'Argento (Silver Lion) for the best director: Cai Shangjun, for People Mountain People Sea
• Special Jury Prize: Terraferma by Emanuele Crialese
• Coppa Volpi for the Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, for Shame
• Coppa Volpi for the Best Actress: Deanie Ip, for A Simple Life
• Premio Marcello Mastroianni, for the best emerging actor or actress: Shôta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidô for Himizu
• Osella for Best Cinematography: Robbie Ryan for Wuthering Heights
• Osella for Best Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for Alps
• "Luigi de Laurentis" Award for a Debut Film: Là-bas by Guido Lombardi

Horizons – 'Premio orrizonti'

• Premio Orizzonti (Orizzonti prize): Kotoko by Shinya Tsukamoto (Japan)
• Special Orizonti jury prize: Whores' Glory by Michael Glawogger (Austria, Germany)
• Premio Orizzonti awards for medium-length film: Accidentes Gloriosos by Mauro Andrizzi and Marcus Lindeen (Sweden, Denmark, Germany)
• Premio Orizzonti award for short film: In attesa dell'avvento by Felice D'Agostino and Arturo Lavorato (Italy)
• Special Mentions:
  • O Le Tulafale (The Orator) by Tusi Tamasese (New Zealand, Samoa)
  • All The Lines Flow Out by Charles LIM Yi Yong (Singapore)

Collateral Prizes

• Leoncino d'oro Agiscuola: Carnage by Roman Polanski;
• 32/a segnalazione Cinema for Unicef: Terraferma by Emanuele Crialese;
• Premio del pubblico Kino della Settimana della critica: La-bas by Guido Lombardi;
• Premio Label by Europa Cinemas for best european film in Venice Days section: Presume Coupable by Vincent Garenq;
• Premio 'Francesco Pasinetti' by Sngci for best film: Terraferma by Emanuele Crialese;
• Premio Pasinetti for best bebut: The Last Man on Earth by Gian Alfonso Pacinotti;
• Premio Fondazione Mimmo Rotella: The Last Man on Earth by Gian Alfonso Pacinotti and special mention for Pasta nera by Alessandro Piva;
• Premio del Dipartimento per le Pari Opportunita' a Tao jie by Ann Hui;
• Biografilm Lancia Award: Black Block by Carlo Augusto Bachschmidt;
• Future Film Festival Digital Award: Faust by Alexander Sokurov and special mention for Kotoko by Shinya Tsukamoto;
• Queer Lion for the best Movie with LGBT Themes & Queer Culture: Wilde Salome by Al Pacino;
• Brian Prize by UAAR: The Ides of March by George Clooney.