Venice Film Festival Winners: ‘Joker’ Is Golden Lion; Roman Polanski’s ‘An Officer And A Spy’ Takes Grand Jury Prize

Refresh for latest…: The 76th Venice Film Festival draws to a close tonight with the winners about to be announced from inside the Sala Grande on the Lido. It’s been another year replete with strong movies hungry for awards season attention, as well as a fair share of controversy. And, it’s anybody’s guess which way Lucrecia Martel’s jury will swing.

Among the most contested titles, from even before the fest kicked off, is Roman Polanski‘s An Officer And A Spy which nevertheless held sway with Italian critics in an annual poll. Any win tonight would certainly seem to cement the divide between U.S. and Euro perspectives in the #MeToo era.

Overall, and for Hollywood, among the biggest show-stopping moments of the past 10 days was the world premiere of Warner Bros’ Joker with a mesmerizing turn by star Joaquin Phoenix. Also highly-praised are such titles as Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. The Netflix pic is a harrowing, superbly-acted look at divorce with strong lead performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Elsewhere, Italy’s Martin Eden was also warmly welcomed.

While nothing is certain until the winners are named, Lido scuttlebutt has been that the jury may look to make a statement with its Golden Lion laureate.

We’ll know more in just a little while, so stay tuned and check back for the winners as they are updated below.

VENICE 76
Golden Lion
Joker; dir: Todd Phillips

Grand Jury Prize
An Officer And A Spy: dir: Roman Polanski

Silver Lion, Best Director
Roy Andersson; About Endlessness

Volpi Cup, Best Actress
Ariane Ascaride; Gloria Mundi

Volpi Cup, Best Actor
Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden

Best Screenplay
Yonfan; No. 7 Cherry Lane

Special Jury Prize
La Mafia Non E Più Quello Di Una Volta; dir: Franco Moresco

Marcello Mastroianni Award for for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Toby Wallace, Babyteeth

HORIZONS
Best Film
Atlantis; dir: Valentyn Vasyanovych

Best Director
Theo Court; Blanco En Blanco

Special Jury Prize
Verdict; dir: Raymund Ribay Guttierez