Venice Critics’ Week 2024 Winners

Main Feature Winners

Vietnamese feature Don’t Cry, Butterfly and UK title Paul & Paulette Take A Bath were among the winners at the 39th Venice Critics’ Week, announced on Friday, September 6.

Don’t Cry, Butterfly took the main Grand Prize, awarded by a jury of Kerem Ayan, Yasmine Benkiran, and Ariane Labed. The jury selected the film “for its singularity and creativity; because it tests new ideas, mixing comedy, social drama, and fantasy; for the way it depicts the complexity of a mother-daughter relationship”.

Scroll down for the full list of feature winners

Don’t Cry, Butterfly is a feature debut by Duong Dieu Linh, which sees a woman turn to spirits in an attempt to win back her philandering husband. Barunson E&A handles international sales on the film, which is a collaboration between producers from Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The film also won the award for Most Innovative Feature, assigned by a five-person jury of people under the age of 35.

The main jury gave a Special Mention to Alexandra Simpson’s US-Switzerland co-production No Sleep Till, “for the contemporaneity of the topic and the stunning photography, for the tender gaze on its beautiful characters, for its powerful, melancholic, and vibrating atmosphere”.

Jethro Massey’s UK debut Paul & Paulette Take A Bath, following a young American photographer and an acerbic French woman with a taste for the macabre, won the Audience Award, with an average score of 4.5/5. Further winners included Michael Premo’s Trump supporter documentary Homegrown, taking the Best Technical Contribution prize.

Critics’ Week artistic director Beatrice Fiorentino said, “The wide variety of this year’s palmares reflects not only the bright outlook of the juries but also the diversity of the Critics’ Week programme, which once again has presented features that are new, innovative, dynamic, and above all topical, rooted in the present.”

Venice Critics’ Week 2024 winners

Grand Prize – Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Viet-Sing-Phi-Indo) dir. Duong Dieu Linh
Special Mention – No Sleep Till (US-Switz) dir. Alexandra Simpson
Audience Award – Paul & Paulette Take A Bath (UK) dir. Jethro Massey
Best Independent Production – Anywhere Anytime (It) dir. Milad Tangshit
Best Technical Contribution – Homegrown (US) dir. Michael Premo
Most Innovative Feature – Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Viet-Sing-Phi-Indo) dir. Duong Dieu Linh

Conclusion

The winners of the 39th Venice Critics’ Week demonstrated the diversity and creativity of contemporary cinema. The various awards recognized films that are innovative, dynamic, and rooted in the present moment.

FAQs

* What is the Critics’ Week?
Critics’ Week is a popular film festival that showcases emerging filmmakers and their works.
* Who won the main Grand Prize?
Don’t Cry, Butterfly won the main Grand Prize at the 39th Venice Critics’ Week.
* What is the significance of the Critics’ Week program?
The Critics’ Week program is known for presenting features that are new, innovative, dynamic, and topical, reflecting the diversity of contemporary cinema.
* Who is the Critics’ Week artistic director?
Beatrice Fiorentino is the Critics’ Week artistic director.