Against all odds, Jim Jarmusch took home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with his intimate drama Father Mother Sister Brother. The festival also celebrated works by Kaouther Ben Hania and Toni Servillo.
At the end of a politically charged edition, the 82nd Venice Film Festival awarded its top prize on Saturday to Jim Jarmusch’s quiet, independent film about family, while giving a strong runner-up nod to The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania.
To the audience’s surprise, Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother took home the coveted Golden Lion.
The film is a three-part story set across New Jersey, Dublin, and Paris, featuring a star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Waits.
Minimalist and deeply restrained, the film relies on silence, small gestures, and glances rather than heavy dialogue, offering a tender reflection on what binds a family together. “It’s kind of an anti-action movie,” joked Jarmusch, the 72-year-old icon of independent cinema, who also wrote the screenplay.
Wearing his signature dark sunglasses and a pin reading “Enough,” Jarmusch reflected on the deeper meaning of his film: “You don’t have to make political statements to be political. Sometimes that can even threaten empathy and human connection — which are the first steps toward solving the problems we face.”
He also thanked the jury, led by fellow American filmmaker Alexander Payne, for recognizing his “quiet little film.”
The Golden Lion win was especially surprising given the festival favorite, The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania, which was awarded the Silver Lion, Venice’s second-highest honor. The film moved audiences so profoundly it received a 23-minute standing ovation.
Servillo Among the Winners
The award for Best Director went to American filmmaker Benny Safdie, who gave Dwayne Johnson — better known as The Rock — a career-defining role in The Smashing Machine, a raw drama about a mixed martial arts fighter battling addiction.
Long seen as a launchpad for Oscar contenders, Venice embraces both Hollywood films and streaming platforms, setting it apart from its rival Cannes.
In another highlight, Italian actor Toni Servillo took home an acting prize for his role as a widowed president nearing the end of his term, grappling with moral dilemmas, in La Grazia.
The film, which subtly explores the topic of euthanasia, marks a new collaboration between Servillo and acclaimed director Paolo Sorrentino, whose La Grande Bellezza won the Academy Award for Best International Film in 2014.
Chinese actress Xin Zhilei was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her haunting performance as a woman facing old heartbreaks in Cai Shangjun’s The Sun Rises on Us All.
The festival closed with the French sci-fi thriller Chien 51, set in a tense, futuristic vision of Paris and starring Adèle Exarchopoulos.
By Antoine GUY / AFP
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