Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’ debut “From Afar” (“Desde Alla”) and Charlie Kaufman‘s experimental “Anomalisa” were among the big winners at the 72nd Annual Venice Film Festival awards on Saturday.
“From Afar,” about an older gay man (Alfredo Castro) who strikes up a turbulent relationship with a street thug (Luis Silva), took the Golden Lion for Best Film. The Silver Lion for best director went to another Latin American, Pablo Trapero, for his Argentine kidnapping thriller “The Clan.”
Kaufman’s “Anomalisa,” a stop-motion animation about a customer-service guru experiencing an existential crisis, nabbed Venice’s Grand Jury Prize.
French writer-director Christian Vincent’s “Courted” took home two prizes, for Vincent’s screenplay as well as Fabrice Luchini’s lead performance as a prickly middle-aged judge who softens when he encounters a juror whom he once loved.