Swedish director Roy Andersson's film "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" won the Golden Lion for best movie at the Venice Film Festival.
This, Roy Anderssons’s final part of a trilogy including "Songs from the Second Floor" and "You, the Living," was commended for its distinctive look and moving exploration of what humanity is about.
Andersson told the audience in English that he had been inspired by Vittorio De Sica's 1948 "Bicycle Thieves" and particularly the scene in the pawnshop, because the character "discovers Rome's poor." "It's a humanistic scene, it's true empathy. That's what a movie should be," he said. The win marks the first time a Swedish film wins the Golden Lion.