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- Oliver Hermanus' Living screened at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
- The film, which opened to rave reviews, is an adaptation of the 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru.
- "Thank you Venice, what an amazing reception!" the director wrote on Twitter following the screening.
Oliver Hermanus' Living screened at the 79th Venice Film Festival, breaking their usual rule that all titles eligible for selection must be world premieres.
Living is an adaptation of the 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru. It follows Mr Williams (Bill Nighy), a civil servant who has become a small cog in the bureaucracy of rebuilding post-WWII England, as he learns that he has a terminal illness. He goes on a quest to find some meaning in his dull life.
The film opened to rave reviews at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January.
"A director rising into the highest ranks and an actor at the peak of his powers are the keys to this mesmerising melodrama set in London in the 1950s," Kevin Maher wrote for The Times.
"Thank you Venice, what an amazing reception!" the director wrote on Twitter on Friday, before sharing a gallery of images on Instagram.
"Such a wonderful day and our first in person audience seeing LIVING!" he said. "Thank you @labiennale for having us and @alexandermcqueen for making me look the part... onto the next - Telluride here we come!"
Ahead of his return to the Venice Film Festival, Hermanus told News24:
Hermanus' next project, a World War I film titled The History of Sound, is also already generating buzz. The film stars Emmy-winner Josh O'Connor (known for his role as Prince Charles in The Crown) and Bafta-winner Paul Mescal (who played Connell Waldren in the hit series Normal People).
