Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, a co-production of Screen Ireland, has, in a significant upset, won the Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. “Oh, s**t!” the veteran American director said from the stage. “All of us here who make films, we’re not motivated by competition, but this is something I truly appreciate – this unexpected honour. And I have to really respectfully thank you.”
The gentle anthology film follows three sets of siblings as they visit the homes of parents in the rural United States, Dublin and Paris. That middle section sees Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps driving through recognisable streets – Blanchett’s car breaks down in Stoneybatter – to meet mum Charlotte Rampling. Tensions then bubble over afternoon tea.
There were unmistakable echoes of last year’s event when Pedro Almodóvar, a near contemporary of Jarmusch, also belatedly won at one of the big three European festivals (the other two being Cannes and Berlin).
Jim Jarmusch receives the Golden Lion for Best Film for Father Mother Sister Brother from Venice Film Festival president Pietrangelo Buttafuocco on Saturday. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
“Art does not have to address politics directly to be political,” Jarmusch, known for low-key classics such Dead Man and Stranger than Paradise, continued. “It can engender an empathy and a connection between us, which is really the first step for solving problems that we have. So I thank you.”
That last line could be read as a reference to his film‘s beating Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, strong favourite with Lion watchers, to one of the most important awards in world cinema. Hania, who took the second prize, delivered a docudrama concerning a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza. Hania daringly includes original audio of Rajab’s desperate call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society as they struggle to assist.
“I dedicate this war to the Palestinian Red Crescent and to all those who have risked everything to save lives in Gaza,” the director said. “They are real heroes. The voice of Hind is the voice of Gaza itself, a cry for rescue to the entire world here. Yet no one answered.”
Kaouther Ben Hania with the Grand Jury Prize for The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Venice International Film Festival on Saturday. Photograph: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
The continuing crisis had already generated much debate at the festival. Venice4Palestine, an body of international film professionals, issued an open letter asking the organisers to condemn Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. On the first Saturday of the event, a sizeable pro-Palestinian protest progressed from the Piazza Santa Maria Elisabetta to the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Lido.
Benny Safdie, the eccentric American director, took the Silver Lion – the best-director prize – for The Smashing Machine. The rough-hewn film stars Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as Mark Kerr, a former wrestler who became a pioneer in the early days of mixed martial arts. “To be here amongst the giants of the past and all the giants who are even here this year, it just blows my mind,” Safdie said. Best actor went to home favourite Toni Servillo for his role as an Italian president wrestling with moral crises in Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia.
Father Mother Sister Brother is the second Irish co-production to win the Lion in just two years, after Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things triumphed in 2023. “What a remarkable place, what an experience!” Jarmusch puffed.
Main Competition Prizes for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival
Golden Lion: Father Mother Sister Brother by Jim Jarmusch
Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania
Special Jury Prize: Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi
Silver Lion: Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Xin Zhilei for The Sun Rises on Us All
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Toni Servillo for La grazia
Best Screenplay: Valérie Donzelli and Gilles Marchand for At Work
Marcello Mastroianni Award: Luna Wedler for Silent Friend