Verdict wins in Venice Fest

MANILA, Philippines – Verdict, written and directed by Raymund Gutierrez (photo), won the Premio Speciale dela Giuria (Special Jury Prize) in the Orizzonti (Horizons) Section of the 76th Venice International Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia) in Italy last Sept. 7. It was the lone entry from Southeast Asia.

“Although I won an award today, the struggle continues for all battered women. I hope the film reaches people who can make a difference as well,” said Raymund in his acceptance speech.

The Orizzonti Jury was chaired by Susanna Nicchiarelli and composed of Eva Sangiorgi, Álvaro Brechner, Mark Adams, Rachid Bouchareb, with 19 feature films and 13 short films in competition.

Other winners in the Orizzonti Section were Atlantis by Valentyn Vasyanovych, Best Film (Ukraine); Théo Court, Best Director for White On White (Spain, Chile, France, Germany); Marta Nieto, Best Actress for Madre by Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain, France); Sami Bouajila, Best Actor for A Son by Mehdi Barsaoui (Tunisia, France, Lebanon, Qatar); Jessica Palud, Philippe Lioret, Diastème Best Screenplay for Revinir by Palud (France); and Darling, Best Short by Saim Sadiq (Pakistan, USA).

The Golden Lion for Best Film went to Joker by Todd Philipps (USA); the Silver Lion-Grand Jury Prize was awarded to An Officer and a Spy by Roman Polanski (France, Italy); and the Silver Lion-Best Director was Roy Andersson for About Endlessness (Sweden, Germany, Norway).

Produced by Brillante Mendoza and Carlo Camilo Valenzona of Center Stage Productions, Verdict is a story of a battered wife who finally files a case against her husband. It stars Maxene Eigenmann, Kristoffer King, Jorden Suan and Rene Durian. The film is Rated A by the Cinema Evaluation Board and will be screened during the third Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP), Sept. 13 to 19, in selected theaters nationwide, in celebration of the 100 Years of Philippine Cinema.

Verdict got a $10,000 budget grant when it was chosen as one of the 19 films worldwide under the Work In Progress Projects by the 18th Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum last March. It was presented at the 46th Telluride Film Festival, Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in Colorado, USA and was shortlisted in the Contemporary World Cinema line-up of the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 5 to 15 in Canada.