The debut film by Ana Rocha de Sousa scoops two prizes.
LISTEN, which was produced by Paula Vaccaro (Pinball London) received the prestigious Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film.
The Jury at the 77th Venice Film Festival, chaired by Claudio Giovannesi and comprised of Rémi Bonhomme and Dora Bouchoucha, decided to award Lion of the Future “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM to LISTEN by Ana Rocha de Sousa (United Kingdom, Portugal) as well as a prize of 100,000 US dollars, donated by Filmauro, to be divided equally between the director and the producer.
In addition to the Debut Film Award, the Orizzonti Jury, chaired by Claire Denis and composed of Oskar Alegria, Francesca Comencini, Katriel Schory and Christine Vachon, acknowledged LISTEN, among 19 feature filmsn with the Special Jury Award.
Portuguese director Ana Rocha emerged as a filmmaker after a successful career as an actor in Portugal. In 2007 she completed her Fine Arts Degree in Painting at the University of Lisbon. Here she developed her passion for the power of the visual image in photography and film, winning the Bienal Jovens VaLoures for her work "Love_in_Progress" and taking part in the Bienal Internacional de Artes Plásticas e Design Industrial da Marinha Grande with her work "Espera"; for which she was given an honourable mention.
In 2010 she moved to London to further develop her skills at London Film School, where she completed her MA in Filmmaking in Dec 2013.