The off-beat period comedy from Element Pictures was rewarded the prize on Sunday evening, which is commonly considered the silver medal of the festival.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film follows a frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) as she occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion.
The film was given the award by the festival’s Grand Jury, which was led by Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro. Olivia Colman also picked up the Best Actress Volpi Cup for her portrayal of Queen Anne in the film, whilst Alfonso Cuaron’s black-and-white Mexican drama ‘Roma,’ picked up the coveted Golden Lion Award for Best Film.
‘The Favourite’ is the latest of three films by Lanthimos that have been produced by Ed Guiney and Element Pictures, including “The Lobster” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.”
Speaking with The Irish Times from Toronto International Film Festival, Ed Guiney said:
“We are absolutely delighted with the Venice awards for the brilliant Olivia Colman and the extraordinary Yorgos Lanthimos. Combined with a terrific response at the Telluride Film Festival and a 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, this positions the film wonderfully for its release in the US later this year. Irish audiences will get to see it early next year.”
The film festival closed on Sunday evening with ‘Driven,’ from Northern Irish duo, director Nick Hamm and writer Colin Bateman (‘The Journey’). The intense thriller, starring Jason Sudekis, Lee Pace and Judy Greer, follows the automotive company owner John DeLorean in his involvement in a drug transaction.
‘Driven’ will have its North American premiere at TIFF this week.