The Disciple was in the running for the festival’s highest prize, the Golden Lion. That was won by Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand.wo Indians have previously won the Golden Lion at Venice: Satyajit Ray for Aparajito in 1957 and Mira Nair for Monsoon Wedding in 2001.
The other winners in the competition section included Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa as Best Director for Wife of a Spy. The Grand Jury Prize went to Michel Franco for New Order.Pierfrancesco Favino won the Best Actor award for Padrenostro.
The Best Actress prize went to Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman.The Lion of the Future award, given to the most promising filmmaker, went to Ana Rocha De Sousa for Listen. The Portuguese director also won the Special Jury Prize for her film, in which an immigrant couple in Great Britain attempts to prevent social services from taking away their deaf child.
The festival was held this year amidst extraordinary health protocols necessitated by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Fewer films were selected, face masks were mandatory for screenings, and the capacity at theatres was cut down by half.