An Existential Swedish Comedy Won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion

Roy Andersson accepts his Golden Lion for A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence.

The Venice Film Festival concluded last night with a morbid Swedish comedy called A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence taking top honors. Roy Andersson accepted the award, saying, “It’s so full of empathy and it’s so humanistic and I think that’s what movies should be, in the service of humanism.” 77-year-old Russian-American filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky took the best director trophy for The Postman’s White Nights. Girls’ Adam Driver is having a good year: After releasing the critically beloved What If, he won best actor for his role in Hungry Hearts. His co-star, Alba Rohrwacher, won the laurel for best actress.

And here’s the trailer for A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence:

Existential Swedish Comedy Tops Venice