Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland wins top prize at Venice Film Festival

Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, a recession-era road trip drama starring Frances McDormand, won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival, held against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zhao and McDormand appeared by video on Saturday to accept the award from the United States, where travel restrictions made reaching the Lido difficult if not impossible for many Hollywood filmmakers and actors.

#BiennaleCinema2020 #Venezia77 pic.twitter.com/npPNKSxNEp

— La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) September 12, 2020

Italy’s Pierfrancesco Fabino won best lead actor for Padrenostro, (Our Father), an Italian coming-of-age story that takes place against the backdrop of a terrorist attack in the 1970s.

see you down the road. #Nomadland, a film by Chloé Zhao starring Frances McDormand.
In theaters December 4.#Venezia77 #TIFF20 #TellurideFilmFestival #NYFF pic.twitter.com/Q8dTHYPTnc

— Nomadland (@nomadlandfilm) September 8, 2020

Britain’s Vanessa Kirby won best lead actress for Pieces Of A Woman, a harrowing drama about the emotional fallout on a couple after their baby dies during a home birth.

Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa won the Silver Lion for best director for Wife Of A Spy, while the Silver Lion grand jury prize went to Mexico’s Michel Franco for his dystopian drama Nuevo Orden.