Joker made its world premiere last month at the Venice Film Festival, arguably the most prestigious film fest outside of Cannes.
This is a legitimately surprising development — and a pretty significant one for the film’s further awards chances as many Oscar heavyweights first got their start, as Venice Golden Lion winners.
And now it’s won Venice’s top prize, the Golden Lion, from a jury presided over by Argentine director Lucrecia Martel.
At this point, you have to seriously start thinking Joker could be a major player on Oscar night — and not just for Joaquin Phoenix as Best Actor.