Aparicio's 'Sometimes Sadness' Takes Venice Days Top Prize — SkimNews
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- Maria Aparicio's "Sometimes Sadness, Sometimes Rebellion" won the Venice Days director's award, the section's top prize, at the Venice Film Festival
- The film follows Eva, a woman wandering Madrid alone, who meets Dante, an Argentinian historian researching labor struggles and the career of Juan Bialet Massé, a pioneer of labor law and public health in Argentina
- The jury, headed by Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón, praised the film for portraying "the solitude of the present" and merging intimate and political dimensions through "small gestures rather than big events"
- The €20,000 ($23,000) cash prize is split equally between Aparicio and Spain's Paper Moon, the film's international distributor; lead production is by Argentina's La Buena Hora Cine
- The Europa Cinemas Label for best European film in the section went to French filmmaker Robert Guèdiguian's "A Woman Today," about a young finance executive whose world collapses after she is assaulted by a colleague at a company event
- The Venice Days People's Choice Award went to Italian director Nicola Sorcinelli's "Balcanica," about Afghan musicians traveling the Balkan route after music is banned in their home country; the film scored 76% of audience votes
Why it matters: Aparicio walks away with Venice Days' top prize and €20,000 split with Spanish distributor Paper Moon, giving her fourth feature a meaningful international launchpad. The section's other winners — a film about workplace assault and one about Afghan refugee musicians — underscore Venice Days' tilt toward politically charged storytelling this edition.
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