A W A R D W I N N E R S
- Golden Lion: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
- Silver Lion: Saint Omer
- Special Jury Prize: No Bears
- Director: Luca Guadagnino - Bones and All
- Screenwriter: Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin
- Actress: Cate Banchett - Tár
- Actor: Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin
- Young Actor: Taylor Russell - Bones and All
- Debut Film: Alice Diop - Saint Omer
- Queer Lion: Skin Deep
- Audience Award: Nezouh
- Horizons: World War III
- Venice Days: Blue Jean
- International Critics Week: Eismayer
- Fipresci Prize: Argentina, 1985
M Y B E S T O F F E S T
- No Bears (Jafar Panahi, Iran)
- The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, Ireland)
- Athena (Romain Gavras, France)
- Blonde (Andrew Dominik, US)
- Skin Deep (Alex Schaad, Germany)
- Tár (Todd Field, US)
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras, US)
- Blue Jean (Georgia Oakley, UK)
- On the Fringe (Juan Diego Botto, Spain)
- The Damned Don't Cry (Fyzal Boulifa, Morocco)
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V E N I C E I M M E R S I V E
V E N I C E I M M E R S I V E
This was by first real experience with virtual reality on a festival level, and it's great to see how far the technology has come. It still has a way to go, mainly in making headsets less intrusive and the imagery crisper. I'd also love to see more narrative projects, but I'm sure those will come. Here's what I saw on the Venezia79 Immersive Island, in order...
The Soloist VR
dir Jonathan Griffith; with Alex Honnold, Nicolas Hojac 22/UK 60m
The technology behind this film is almost as impressive as the seriously supernatural skills of Honnold (Free Solo) as he free-solo climbs a series of insane rock faces in Yosemite, the Dolomites and the French Alps. The camera seems to hang just off the cliff with him, allowing us to look 360 degrees: straight up and down, and also to take in the glorious views. In between the climbs we get to know Honnold as he chats to a journalist and prepares with fellow climber Hojac. So this is a brisk hour, packed with spectacular footage, and definitely not for anyone afraid of heights.
dir Ruth Gibson, Bruno Martelli, Alexa Pollmann, Bine Roth; with Harry Alexander, Hannah Burfield, Emily Coates, Ruth Gibson, Axelle De Groote, Francesca Orlando, Alice Tatge 22/UK 45m
Mixing live performance with a virtual experience, this ambitious project puts the audience amid cast members. On arrival we're assigned a role, and I was put in an observational one, sitting on the side watching, which was a bit dull as I wanted the fill experience. In front of me were two dancers in mo-cap suits and two audience members in VR gear with screens that showed the virtual environment they were engaged with. Hopefully next time I get a chance to get more involved.
dir Melanie Courtinat 22/Fr 10m
Using written quotes from people who were told to leave their homes after the Chernobyl incident, this animated virtual reality piece glides through a futuristic landscape under which a meadow of colourful wildflowers wave in the breeze. Up above are what look like concrete overpasses and rising tower blocks. The quotes refer to displacement, clinging to memories in specific places and ultimately to heading out to create a new world. Even immersed in this environment, watching this is a bit passive, but it's packed with pointed moments.
dir Felix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphael; with Akihiko Hoshide, Andrew Morgan, Christina Koch, Jessica Meir, Megan McArthur, Luca Parmitano, Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka, Thomas Pesquet 22/Can 10m
Lajeunesse and Raphael sent a 360-degree virtual rig to the International Space Station and, for this experience, attached it to the extending arms outside. The effect is like simply floating in space, between the station and the earth, while astronauts do a series of repairs. Not only is this a fascinatingly detailed glimpse at the exterior of the station (complete with a Spacex capsule docked there), but it's a magnificent way to see how it feels to stare down at our planet, with the sun and moon appearing around the horizons.
dir Felix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphael; with Christina Koch, Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir, Luca Parmitano, Hazzaa Almansoori, Alexey Nikolaevich Ovchinin, Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka, Aleksandr Alexandrovich, Skvortsov 22/Can 35m
This time, Lajeunesse and Raphael's camera rig is inside the station, as various astronauts and cosmonauts interact with each other, go about their business, enjoy leisure time and show the viewer around the remarkably cluttered station. How they live and work is riveting to see so up-close and personal, as they share their own thoughts and feelings. And the coming and going of various crew members adds to the atmosphere, giving us a glimpse of the camaraderie and playfulness of these scientific experts who are still in awe when they look down on the Earth from above.
dir German Heller; scr German Heller, Federico Heller, Jorge Tereso 22/Arg 10m
Finally, I thought I'd attempt one of the game experiences, and this one looked particularly intriguing, as the physical site contains a series of tiny sets built with a witty attention to detail. And once you put on the VR headset, they come to life with augmented reality. You control a little egg who collects capsules while dodging obstacles, fighting monsters and trying not to fall off the sets and splat on the floor. It's colourfully animated, wildly inventive and absolutely hilarious. Thankfully they also give you infinite lives so you can make it to the exhilarating ending.
I still have a lot of writing to do, but full reviews of the films will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page as soon as possible.
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