{"id":15617,"date":"2026-09-11T13:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T11:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/?p=15617"},"modified":"2026-09-11T13:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T11:28:10","slug":"winner2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/en\/winner2026\/","title":{"rendered":"20. Queer Lion Award to \u201cQueer Edward II\u201d by Theo Rollason and “London” by Victor Di Marco and M\u00e1rcio Picoli"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 20. Queer Lion Award \u2013 collateral award of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, ideated in 2007 by Daniel N. Casagrande \u2013 has been jointly awarded to the documentary Queer Edward II<\/strong> by Theo Rollason and to the movie London <\/strong>by Victor Di Marco e M\u00e1rcio Picoli, presented in Venice Open and in Settimana Internazionale della Critica.<\/p>\n

Motivation:<\/p>\n

Bridging past and present, the 20th Queer Lion Award has chosen to honor two deeply different works united by courage and a queer aesthetic that celebrates the body, desire, and a sexuality that is free, sincere, and unabashedly non-conformist.<\/em><\/p>\n

Derek Jarman, a Master and a pioneer, boldly and avant-gardistically defined the narrative traits of New Queer Cinema, a language that, over the ensuing decades, has lent identity, visibility, and space to a type of filmmaking otherwise relegated to niche circuits. Theo Rollason, a young director, helped by an extraordinary editing work, brought a contemporary feel to previously unseen archival footage that had remained trapped in a cupboard for 35 years.<\/em><\/p>\n

That legacy has now been embraced by Victor Di Marco and M\u00e1rcio Picoli, two filmmakers able to elevate the queer body to a realm of self-determination, desire, and power, rescuing it from any attempt at lessening it. The young protagonists -in a setting that is only seemingly confined – embody an explicit, proud sexuality where fetish is play, dominance is freedom rather than violence, and identity is forged through pleasure, friendship, and resistance.<\/em><\/p>\n

With charm and courtesy, Maestro Jarman faced down hostile criticism, production hurdles, and attacks from the press and political establishment; he wielded his homosexuality, activism, art, and HIV-positive status as a gentle weapon against a conservative world\u2014one far from grasping a style that, for its time, was pure, courageous, personal avant-garde.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, Di Marco and Picoli symbolically carry forward that boldness, courage, and audacious kindness by bringing to the screen queer life and identity in all its multifaceted forms – including aspects rarely explored in contemporary cinema – proving that New Queer Cinema keeps evolving, growing, and engaging with the changes of a society it wants to depict.<\/em><\/p>\n

For these reasons, the jury of the 20th Queer Lion Award presents the award to QUEER EDWARD II by Theo Rollason and LONDON by Victor Di Marco and M\u00e1rcio Picoli – two extraordinary debut works celebrating the past, chronicling the present, and pointing the way to the future.<\/em><\/p>\n

The jury chose the winners among the following 12 titles:<\/p>\n

I Plant My Hand in the Garden<\/strong> by Boris Had\u017eija, Hoda Taheri (Germany, Serbia, Usa, 83\u2019)
\nQueer Edward II<\/strong> by Theo Rollason (Uk, 95\u2019) doc
\nLa citt\u00e0 dei vivi<\/strong> by Edoardo Gabbriellini (Italy, 103\u2019)
\nThe Basics of Philosophy<\/strong> by Paul Schrader (Usa, 94\u2019)
\nTijuana, Todav\u00eda<\/strong> (Still, Tijuana) by Gabriel Gutierrez Morales (Mexico, 94\u2019)
\nLondon <\/strong>by Victor Di Marco, M\u00e1rcio Picoli (Brazil, 90\u2019)
\nSal\u00f3n de belleza<\/strong> by Nathalia Acevedo (Mexico, France, 110\u2019)
\nThe Color of the Sun<\/strong> by Xavier Tera (Canada, Italy, Japan, 111\u2019)
\nCamouflage <\/strong>by Mykyta Gibalenko (Germany, 102\u2019)
\nHuangyan shenghuo<\/strong> (Big Little Things) by Michelle Zhou (Hong Kong SAR, Usa, 109\u2019)
\nPeau d\u2019homme<\/strong> (A Man\u2019s Skin) by L\u00e9a Domenach (France, 104\u2019)
\nLovers in the Blue Night<\/strong> by Anuparna Roy (India, Usa, 107\u2019)<\/p>\n

The 20. Queer Lion was awarded by a jury composed by the members of the Board of Queer Lion Association:<\/p>\n

Daniel N. <\/strong>Casagrande<\/strong>, creator\/founder of the award, journalist and film critic, member of the National Italian Film Critics Association and of the European Film Academy. Has a collection under his name at Cineteca di Bologna dedicated to rediscoveries of silent cinema. He taught Film Language History and worked as a videomaker.<\/p>\n

Marco Busato<\/strong>, actor, contributor for Radio Capodistria (Slovenia) and Radio Company (Italy), and member of the European Film Academy.<\/p>\n

Jani Ku\u0161trin<\/strong>, cultural operator, external collaborator and jury member of the Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival, the oldest queer-themed film festival in Europe.<\/p>\n

Adriano Virone<\/strong>, cultural promoter, gay activist and DJ, founder of Arcigay Ottavio Mai (Ivrea). He previously collaborated with the Torino LGBT Film Festival and created Queever. Now a key figure in Nottalgia\u2019s events and serves as social media manager for various LGBTQ organizations in Piedmont, particularly the Quore Association and the TO Housing project.<\/p>\n

Queer Lion Award<\/strong> winners will be crowned during the award ceremony of Settimana Internazionale della Critica, on Friday, September 11th, at 6.30PM, at Casa della Critica<\/strong>, Lido di Venezia. Access to the ceremony is strictly by invitation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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