Directed by
2022

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Darren Aronofsky: "Cinema can connect us to another no matter how different they may seem on the surface. People struggling with obesity are often judged, dismissed, and defined by it. When I saw Sam Hunter’s play eight years ago, I marveled at the depth of his characters, especially Charlie, and was inspired to use the silver screen to put audiences in Charlie’s shoes, to steep in his deepest thoughts, regrets, and hopes. But where would I find my Charlie? I needed a great talent that could glow through the makeup, an actor with a whale-sized heart and a pure soul. As soon as I met Brendan, I knew I had met Charlie. There’s something ineffable in him that brings Sam’s character to life and transports us—mind and body—into what might have been unknowable."

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Title: The Whale
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Directed by
Year
2022
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Festivals

"The Whale" by Darren Aronofsky (USA 2022) won the INTERFILM Prize for the Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. The Golden Lion went to "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" by Laura Poitras.

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What was striking this year in Venice was the abundance of family stories telling of separated and remarried couples, of the relationship between parents and children, of tragic strokes of fate, of loss and grief.
What was striking this year in Venice was the abundance of family stories telling of separated and remarried couples, of the relationship between parents and children, of tragic strokes of fate, of loss and grief.
Even before this year’s cinematic line-up was revealed, it was clear that the 79th Venice International Film Festival was going to be special given the news that auteur Paul Schrader would receive a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Schrader is perhaps best known for his psychological portrayals of troubled and lonely people in his own films and screenplays. Alina Birzache, member of the INTERFILM Jury in Venice 2022, reports about the festival.
List of church film prizes awarded in 2022
List of church film prizes awarded in 2022

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