Venice Film Festival 2021 is over, and what a festival it was! This year saw the first South Korean to head the film jury, Bong Joon Ho director of ‘Parasite’, ‘Snowpiercer’ and ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’. This decision signifies how the Venetian film festival is embracing world cinema in a time when the industry is fundamentally changing while shining light on films that don’t have significant international reach.
When accepting the proposal in January he stated:
“The Venice International Film Festival carries with it a long and varied history, and I’m honored to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition. As president of the jury – and more importantly as a perpetual cinephile – I’m ready to admire and applaud all the great films selected by the festival. I’m filled with genuine hope and excitement.”
If you aren’t familiar with Korean Cinema, Bong Joon Ho’s most recent achievements have moved Korean Cinema firmly into the spotlight. In 2019 Parasite became the first non-english film and the first South Korean movie to win best picture Oscar. The film shows the divides between poor and rich and is about a poor family trying to infiltrate a wealthy family by gaining employment as their staff (currently on Amazon Prime).
Another film produced relatively is Okja. Despite an initial controversy due to it being produced by Netflix, it won positive reviews from reputable publications such as Rotten Tomatoes, The New York Times and Metacritic (watchable on Netflix).
The Venezia 78 Jury, chaired by Bong Joon Ho and comprised of Saverio Costanzo, Virginie Efira, Cynthia Erivo, Sarah Gadon, Alexander Nanau and Chloé Zhao, having viewed all 21 films in competition, has decided as follows:
The awards given for the Venice Film Festival were as follows:
GOLDEN LION for Best Film to:
L’ÉVÉNEMENT (HAPPENING)
by Audrey Diwan (France)
SILVER LION – GRAND JURY PRIZE to:
È STATA LA MANO DI DIO (THE HAND OF GOD)
by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
SILVER LION – AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR to:
Jane Campion
for the film THE POWER OF THE DOG (New Zealand, Australia)
COPPA VOLPI
for Best Actress:
Penélope Cruz
in the film MADRES PARALELAS (PARALLEL MOTHERS) by Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)
COPPA VOLPI
for Best Actor:
John Arcilla
in the film ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8 by Erik Matti (Philippines)
AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY to:
Maggie Gyllenhaal
for the film THE LOST DAUGHTER by Maggie Gyllenhaal (Greece, USA, UK, Israel)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE to:
IL BUCO
by Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy, France, Germany)
MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD
for Best Young Actor or Actress to:
Filippo Scotti
in the film È STATA LA MANO DI DIO (THE HAND OF GOD) by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
Korean Cinema 