2020 Venice International Film Festival Winners Announced: ‘Nomadland’ Takes Top Honor, The Golden Lion

The 2020 Venice International Film Festival ended earlier this week, awarding the film Nomadland with the Golden Lion and marking the first successful international industry event of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival took place in person, but thanks to a combination of sanitation and social distancing measures enforced, it seems that nobody has fallen ill.

The festival screened 48 films from all over the world, notably excluding A-list American movies. Especially popular, alongside Nomadland, were Pedro Almodóvar‘s The Human Voice, Gia Coppola’s Mainstream, Mona Fastvold’s The World To Come, and Kornel Mundruczo’s Pieces Of A Woman. No matter which film viewers were interested in, an online reservation system helped thin crowds and made it easy to guarantee seats to both the screenings and press releases. The film festival was praised for having been successful not only by regular standards, but also for staying organized and keeping its attendees safe during the ongoing pandemic.

As follows is the list of official awards within the main international competition:

Golden Lion
Nomadland; dir: Chloé Zhao

Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize
Nuevo Orden; dir: Michel Franco

Silver Lion, Best Director
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Wife Of A Spy

Volpi Cup, Best Actress
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces Of A Woman

Volpe Cup Best Actor
Pierfrancesco Favino, Padrenostro

Best Screenplay
Chaitanya Tamhane, The Disciple

Special Jury Prize
Dear Comrades, dir: Andrei Konchalovsky

Marcello Mastroianni Award for for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Roohollah Zamani, Sun Children

The list of awards in the Horizons section:

Best Film
The Wasteland; dir: Ahmad Bahrami

Best Director
Lav Diazn Genus Pan

Special Jury Prize
Listen, dir: Ana Rocha de Sousa

Best Actress
Khansa Batma, Zanka Contact

Best Actor
Yahya Mahayni, The Man Who Sold His Skin

Best Screenplay
Pietro Castellitto, I Predatori

Best Short Film
Entre Tú Y Milagros, dir: Mariana Saffon

Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award For A Debut Film
Listen, dir: de Sousa

Also awarded were two special Golden Lions For Lifetime Achievement, to Ann Hui and Tilda Swinton.