70th Venice International Film Festival (28th August – 7th September 2013)
The German film THE POLICE OFFICER'S WIFE by Philip Gröning (Philip Gröning Filmproduktion, Bavaria Pictures, 3L Filmproduktion) was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the International Film Festival in Venice. The film screened in the Venezia 70 competition.
The German co-production WHITE SHADOW by Noaz Deshe (IT/DE/TZ, Chromosom Filmproduktion, French Exit), which competed in the independent section of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica, received the Lion of the Future „Luigi de Laurentiis“ Venice Award. The prize, which is awarded for the best debut feature from one of the festival's sections, includes a purse of $100,000. BETHLEHEM by Yuval Adler (IL/BE/DE, Gringo Films), another German co-production programmed in the independent sidebar of the Venice Days, was named Best Film and presented with the FEDEORA Award by the Federation of Film Critics in Europe and the Mediterranean.
THE POLICE OFFICER'S WIFE, which can also be seen at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths sidebar this week, tells the story of a young family in a small town. The father works at the local police station, the mother is devoted to caring for their child. There is violence between the parents, but the mother does everything to keep her child's soul intact and teach it the value of love. Philip Gröning had already been invited to Venice with his documentary INTO GREAT SILENCE and was also a member of the Orrizonti jury in 2006.
The nine-person international jury under the chairmanship of Bernardo Bertolucci also included the German actress Martina Gedeck.