Director Lav Diaz holds the Golden Lion prize for his movie "The Woman Who Left" during the award ceremony at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, at the Lido of Venice, Italy, Sept. 10, 2016. "The Woman Who Left" by Philippine director Lav Diaz won the Golden Lion, the highest prize presented at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival which concluded here on Saturday evening. (Xinhua/Jin Yu)
VENICE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- "The Woman Who Left" by Filipino director Lav Diaz won the Golden Lion, the highest prize presented at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival which concluded here on Saturday evening.
The 228-minute drama tells the story of a former schoolteacher who was wrongly convicted and put behind bars for 30 years, but shocked by the reality of her homeland after leaving prison, and decided to take revenge.
Diaz, born in 1958 in Datu Paglas of the Philippines, is an acclaimed independent filmmaker and winner of several awards at other international film festivals.
At the award ceremony, Diaz said his win was "unbelievable," and dedicated the prize to his country and the people of the Philippines.
At the press conference after the ceremony, member of the jury and winner of last year's Golden Lion, Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas said the film "affected every juror emotionally," and was able to "push the media forward."
In total, eight films were awarded this year in the main competition Venezia 73, by an international jury of nine, chaired by British director Sam Mendes.
The Silver Lion, or the Grand Jury Prize, went to American designer-turned-director Tom Ford for his second feature film "Nocturnal Animals," a thriller starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The Best Director prize was shared by Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky for "Paradise" and Mexican director Amat Escalante for "The Untamed."
Argentine actor Oscar Martinez was named the Best Actor for his performance in "The Distinguished Citizen," while American actress Emma Stone landed Best Actress for her role in musical "La La Land."
"Jackie," a movie based on the story of former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and starring Natalie Portman, was given the prize for Best Screenplay.
Mendes said at the press conference after the ceremony that all the eight films have things in common, such as "the lack of comprises, original vision and pure identity."
In the Orizzonti section dedicated to indie films and emerging talents, the Best Film went to "Liberami" by Italian director Federica di Giacomo, and the Best Director to Fien Troch from Belgium, for her film "Home."
This year, a total of 43 countries and regions participated in the festival which kicked off on Aug. 31.
Twenty feature films were chosen from the 2,901 films viewed to join the Venezia 73 session, 19 for the Orizzonti section.
In addition, 14 short film, including seven documentaries, also competed in the Orizzonti section, while 18 feature films and two short films were screened out of competition.
The festival ended with the screening of the closing film "The Magnificent Seven" by American director Antoine Fuqua, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt.
Established in 1932, the Venice Film Festival is the oldest-running film festival in the world, and one of the three major European film festivals.
