5 Films Received the Longest Standing Ovation at the 2023 Venice Film Festival

The 80th Venice Film Festival Held on 30 August - 9 September 2023, the excitement of the 80th Venice Film Festival is still a hot topic of conversation among film lovers. Starting from the series of films that make up the main line-up to the absence of Hollywood A-lister actors from the red carpet due to clashes with the SAG-AFTRA Strike – a strike by filmmakers who are members of SAG-AFTRA to demand equal wages.

The chaos that is currently ensnaring the Hollywood industry is not an obstacle for the Venice Film Festival to maintain its status as a marker that the highest awards season for world cinema has begun.

Coming from all corners of the world, a series of film titles appeared stunning and received a long and lively standing ovation. Here is a list of some of the films!

1. Aggro Dr1ft (2023) - 10 min

Aggro Dr1ft became the film with the longest standing ovation at the 80th Venice Film Festival. Lasting ten minutes, the film, which had its premiere on September 2 2023, was also the film with the most walkout audiences.

Director Harmony Korine made Aggro Dr1ft as an evocative and sensual action film in infrared photography format where the colors displayed are different from those seen with the naked eye.

Aggro Dr1ft itself tells the story of the preparations of BO (Jordi Mollà), a melancholic hitman, in conquering the evil entity that controls Florida. The situation suddenly gets out of control when the mission that should have gone easily actually blurs the thin line that separates reality and imagination.

2. Memory (2023) - 8 min

The film with the longest standing ovation is Memory. Written and directed by Michael Franco, Memory received an eight-minute standing ovation.

Franco's way of treating the characters he writes like real people opens up access for the main actors, Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, to give their best performances. As a result, Sarsgaard emerged as the winner of Best Actor at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Memory follows the daily life of a social worker named Sylvia (Jessica Chastain), who is simple and tends to be monotonous. His life suddenly changes when Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) follows him from a school reunion. Not only did they open the door to the past, their meeting also had a big impact on their lives.

3. Poor Things (2023) - 8 min

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, Poor Things received a standing ovation for eight minutes. This is Yorgos Lanthimos' first film adaptation, the presence of Poor Things is like quenching the thirst for fans of surrealist cinema with all the visual absurdity that is presented.

Poor Things also won the Golden Lion award for the Best Film category at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Poor Things tells the story of the fantastic evolution that occurred in Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young girl who was brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a genius but eccentric scientist. Thirsty for adventure, Bella travels the world with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a cunning and lecherous lawyer.

4. Evil Does Not Exist (2023) - 8 min

Successfully shaking up the world of prestigious world film awards through Drive My Car, director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi is back with Evil Does Not Exist.

Pushing the standards of the drama genre which is sometimes too dramatic, Hamaguchi and scriptwriter Eiko Ishibashi weave a story full of warnings with grace. It's no surprise that Evil Does Not Exist received an eight-minute standing ovation on the night of its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Evil Does Not Exist focuses on Takumi and his only daughter, Hana, living in the village of Mizubiki. One day, the villagers were shocked by rumors of plans to build a glamping site - camping with luxury facilities - which would have a negative impact on the surrounding environment, especially the water springs in the village.

5. Maestro (2023) - 7 min

Maestro, which was directed, written and starring Bradley Cooper, is a biographical film of the legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. Successfully touching the hearts of the audience at its premiere, Maestro received a standing ovation for seven minutes. Cooper's expertise in bringing Leonard Bernstein to life is certainly the selling point of the film, which will air on Netflix on December 20, 2023.

Maestro himself focuses on the love relationship between Leonard (Bradley Cooper) and his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan) during their 30-year marriage journey. His complicated love life is inversely proportional to his career as a renowned composer and conductor of popular plays on Broadway.

From the list of film titles above, which film are you most looking forward to releasing?

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