VENICE – A documentary about the opioid crisis has taken home the top prize at the 79^th Venice International Film Festival.

 Laura Poitras’ film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which turns the spotlight on American photographer and activist Nan Goldin has won the Golden Lion. The film highlights Goldin’s efforts to hold Purdue Pharma, the makers of the highly addictive narcotic pain reliever, Oxycontin, accountable for the opioid epidemic.

 The Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, meanwhile, went to Paris-born documentarian Alice Diop, making her narrative debut with legal drama Saint Omer.

 The top acting prizes went to Cate Blanchett and Colin Farrell. Blanchett for her portrayal of a despotic German orchestra conductor in Todd Field’s Tár, while Farrell earned the award for his depiction of a man rejected by his best friend in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. The film also gained the award for Best Screenplay.

 The Silver Lion award for Best Direction went to Luca Guadagnino for the romantic horror Bones and All. The film stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as cannibalistic lovers who embark on a road trip across America’s mid west.

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