All the beauty and bloodshed, Laura Poitras’ 2022 documentary about the life and work of artist and activist Nan Goldin, was awarded the Golden Lion at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. The film premiered on September 3.
Poitras’ documentary is only the second representative of this category to win the prestigious first prize in Venice. The film follows Goldin’s fight to thwart the Sacklers’ attempts to clear their reputation as the chief architects of America’s opioid epidemic and his own struggle with opioid addiction, as well as his rise to fame. as a photographer and artist. Goldin, who produced the documentary, tells it with her own memories of growing up in the suburbs, of grief over the death of her sister, and of the New York arts community’s response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. documentary includes interviews, rare footage of Goldin’s activism as part of PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) Sacklerand images from his slideshows and photographs.
In Poitras’ acceptance speech, the filmmaker expressed his gratitude to the festival for recognizing that “documentary is cinema.” She also called Goldin’s activism against the “ruthless” Sackler family “courageous”, adding that she had “never met someone like Nan”.
Neon acquired North American distribution rights for All the beauty and bloodshed late August, and the film is set to hit theaters in the fall with a later digital release. The film will premiere in New York as part of the New York Film Festival on October 7, where it has been selected to be the centerpiece of the festival. Goldin was also asked to design the official poster for the New York Film Festival (NYFF), which celebrates its 60th anniversary. Previous artists who have designed NYFF posters include Larry Rivers and Kara Walker.
Poitras is also known for having made Citizenfoura 2014 documentary about Edward Snowden, and for her work as a founding editor at the Intercept, a nonprofit news organization launched in 2014 known for its adversarial journalism.
“Nan’s artistry and vision have inspired my work for years and influenced generations of filmmakers,” Poitras said in a statement. The release of the documentary will coincide with a landmark new retrospective of the work of Nan Goldin opening at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm on October 29.
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