Emma Stone wins best actress gong at Venice Film Festival

Emma Stone won the Venice Film Festival’s best actress prize on Saturday (10.09.16) for her role in ‘La La Land’.
The 27-year-old star played the part of Mia, an aspiring actress and playwright, in the Damien Chazelle-directed movie, which also features Ryan Gosling.
Emma was not present to collect the prize and therefore recorded a video message for the audience.
She said: “I wish I was back there because Venice and Italy are so amazing and I can think of no better place than Venice to have premiered ‘La La Land’.
“We had such an amazing time and I will never forget it. I have to thank Ryan Gosling for being my partner on this movie, and especially Damien Chazelle for casting me. It was a dream come true.”
Emma previously admitted she relished the role because she felt able to identify with her on-screen character.
She said: “I definitely understood the feeling of moving to Los Angeles and having a dream to be an actor in films and to get to be a part of things that I loved and inspire people in some way.
“It’s pretty insane that we’re talking about this movie and it’s something that I’m so proud and excited to be a part of, when that is the goal of the character, is to be a part of something like this.”
Elsewhere at the festival, director Lav Diaz won the coveted Golden Lion for his film ‘The Woman Who Left’, which centres on themes of revenge after a wrongly convicted schoolteacher is released from prison.
Meanwhile, Tom Ford won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize for his movie ‘Nocturnal Animals’, which stars Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Tom subsequently thanked the festival for the honour, saying: “Italy for me is truly a second home.”