Olivia Colman poses with the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress Award for The Favourite
Image © NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images
This year’s Venice International Film Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary and enjoyed a suitably star-studded week premiering movies from across the globe – several of which are already being tipped for success when awards season rolls around. Highlights included the coveted Golden Lion going to Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, while Olivia Colman took the Best Actress prize for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite, and Best Actor went to Willem Dafoe, playing Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate. The festival was lauded for its diverse line-up, while its inclusion of Netflix-produced titles was noteworthy after such titles were pronounced ineligible for awards at Cannes. However, this year’s event in Venice was criticised for a male-heavy bias: just one film by a female director was selected for the official competition (alongside twenty by male directors). A much-photographed ‘Harvey Weinstein is Innocent’ T-shirt that was sported by Italian film-maker Luciano Silighini Garagnani, did nothing to help matters…