Venice: Jayro Bustamante’s ‘The Weeping Woman’ Wins Venice Days Award

Click here to read the full article.

Guatamalan director Jayro Bustamante’s genocide revenge drama “The Weeping Woman” (“La Llorona”), set during the 1960s civil war in his country, has won the Venice Days Director Award, the top nod in Venice’s independently run section.

This is the second feature by Bustamante, who put Guatemalan cinema the map with his debut, “Ixcanul.” The film takes its cue from the acquittal of a former Guatemalan general whose initial sentence is overturned on a procedural pretext. This unleashes a vengeful supernatural spirit upon his household.

More from Variety

• Venice Film Review: 'A Son'

• Venice Film Review: 'Waiting for the Barbarians'

• Venice: Lebanon's 'All This Victory' Wins Critics' Week; Saudi's 'Scales' Scores Prize

Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz (“The Invisible Life”) presided over the jury formed by 28 young European movie buffs. They praised the film for being “an intimate ghost story told through a vivid female character.”

The award comes with a cash prize of €20,000 ($22,000), which is split equally between the director and the film’s international distributor, in this case Film Factory Entertainment.

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.