The film Argentina, 1985, directed by the director Santiago Mitre, tells the story of prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who in 1985, brought the commanders of the last dictatorship of the country to trial. The military was accused of having committed crimes against humanity during the regime of Jorge Rafael Videla. 

The fictional drama, inspired by these real events, shows how both prosecutors handled the case without being intimidated by political power and threats.

“The 1985 trial is a fundamental fact for Argentina. It inaugurates democracy and at the same time condemns violence as a possibility. We believed that cinema had to portray it, and we are proud to have been the first to present it to the world. Why hasn't a movie like this been made before? I couldn't tell. Perhaps time was needed to be able to tell this story,” said the director of Argentina, 1985 after its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

After its screening, the Argentine film has won the prize awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), at Venice.

Latin American cinema has also celebrated the award for Best Screenplay in the Horizontes section given to Chilean director Fernando Guzzoni for his work on the film Blanquita. The film is inspired by the Spiniak case about a child prostitution network led by a businessman from Chile. Blanquita is also a candidate to represent Chile at the Oscars in the Best International Film category.

In addition to Guzzoni, Berlin-based Brazilian director Pedro Harres won the award in the virtual reality category for From the Main Square at the Grand Jury Prize.

Other winners

At the 79th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, American producer and filmmaker Laura Poitras triumphed with her film All The Beauty And The Bloodshed about the life of the photographer Nan Goldin and won the Golden Lion. This is the second time in the history of the contest that the jury gave a documentary the highest award.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett and Irishman Colin Farrell won the Volvi Cups, Best Actress and Best Actor, for their roles  in Tár and Inisherin's Banshees, respectively.

Producer and screenwriter Luca Guadagnino won the Best Director Award and took home the Silver Lion for his film Bones and All, a story about a young cannibal in the United States.