Guess all 3 movies didn’t manage to win the Golden Lion in the recently concluded Venice Internationa Festival. But Im glad that they did receive other awards.
No Golden Lion for Japan
There was little consolation for Japan’s three entries at the Venice International Film Festival, which ended Saturday. None managed to capture the Golden Lion award for best film, which went to Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” starring Mickey Rourke. Miyazaki Hayao’s “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) picked up a “collateral” award from the Mimmo Rotella Foundation, which annually honors a film that “shows a firm connection with the arts.” A hit with audiences and critics alike, it also received the audience award from the magazine CIAK. The rival anime entry, Oshii Mamoru’s “The Sky Crawlers,” received the Future Film Festival Digital Award. Oshii said, “I guess it will take time before Japanese anime gets its due respect.” But the festival jury considered giving Ponyo a Special Lion award this year, deciding against it as Miyazaki received a lifetime achievement award in 2005. And director Marco Mueller said, “Anything other than a Lion award would have been rude.” Meanwhile, 1997 Golden Lion winner Kitano Takeshi had to settle for the Bastone Bianco Award for his entry, “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Tortoise).
Source: Japan Zone News
