Two Asian filmmakers were awarded last night at the Closing Ceremony of the 76th Venice International Film Festival which took place from August 28th until September 7th, in Lido, Venice, Italy.

Main Awards
Best Screenplay Award

No. 7 Cherry Lane by Yonfan – Hong Kong | 2019 – 125 minutes

During the rise of the materialistic comfort of life in the 1960s, there emerges an undercurrent of danger in Hong Kong. Ji yuan tai qi hao tells the tale of Ziming, a Hong Kong University undergraduate, entangled between his amorous feelings for Mrs Yu, a self-exiled mother from Taiwan in the White Terror period, and her beautiful daughter Meiling. He takes them to different movies and through a series of magical moments on the big screen, forbidden passions are revealed. The era coincides with Hong Kong’s turbulent times of 1967. (Venice 2019 Catalogue)

Trailer:

Horizons Competition
Special Jury Prize

Verdict by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez – Philippines, France | 2019 – 120 minutes

Joy and her six-year-old daughter Angel live in Manila, with her husband, Dante, a small-time criminal. As so often in the past, Dante comes home drunk at night and beats Joy brutally. This time, he also hurts Angel. Joy grabs her daughter and flees to the local police post to finally get him sent to jail. Justice, Joy learns, takes time at best and is impossible to get at worst. Not without reason, she feels that she and her daughter are increasingly under threat. (Venice 2019 Catalogue)