The 15. Queer Lion Award – collateral award of the 78th Venice International Film Festival, ideated in 2007 by Daniel N. Casagrande – has been awarded to La dernière séance by Gianluca Matarrese.
Motivation:
The Queer Lion 2021 goes to La dernière séance (The Last Chapter) by Gianluca Matarrese, for its ability to draw a portrait shifting from intimate to universal, thanks to the documentary form used with outstanding narrative cogency, to give voice to the necessary memory of a chapter of history – the era of Aids – that is far from over, while at the same time cleverly dismantling the taboo surrounding BDSM practices.
The jury – composed by Ilaria Feole (journalist, film critic), Antonella Benanzato (journalist, artist), Angelica Lorenzon (interpreter) – chose the winner among the following 10 titles:
The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion (New Zealand, Australia, 125’, 2021)
Competencia oficial by Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn (Spain, Argentina, 114’, 2021)
Madres paralelas by Pedro Almodóvar (Spain, 120’, 2021)
Il bambino nascosto by Roberto Andò (Italy, France, 110’, 2021)
Il paradiso del pavone by Laura Bispuri (Italy, Germany, 89’, 2021)
El hoyo en la cerca by Joaquín del Paso (Mexico, Poland, 100’, 2021)
La santa piccola by Silvia Brunelli (Italy, 97’, 2021)
Deserto Particular by Aly Muritiba (Brazil, Portugal, 120’, 2021)
Il silenzio grande by Alessandro Gassmann (Italy, Poland, 106’, 2021)
La dernière séance by Gianluca Matarrese (Italy, France, 100’, 2021)
The award ceremony will take place on Friday, September 10th, at 6:00PM, at the Hollywood Celebrities Lounge of Circolo del Tennis, Lungomare Marconi, 41/D, Lido di Venezia, director Gianluca Matarrese will be in attendance.
