Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, has been chosen the film of the year 2024 by the members of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics and awarded the FIPRESCI Grand Prix. The organization selected the title from among all of the films premiered after July 1, 2023.
The other four finalists were Do not Expect Too Much from The End of the World (Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii) by Radu Jade; Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai) by Ryusuke Hamaguchi; All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh and The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Daney anjir maabed) by Mohamad Rasoulof.
Poor Things premiered at the 2023 Venice Festival, where it won the Golden Lion for Best Film, and went on to win two Golden Globes and five BAFTAs, in addition to eleven nominations and four awards at the Oscars, where Emma Stone won for Actress in a Leading Role.
Also starring in Poor Things are Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef.
Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, a young girl brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter played by Willem Dafoe. Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she lacks, Bella escapes with Duncan Wedderburn played by Mark Ruffalo, a sophisticated and wicked lawyer, on a dizzying adventure across continents. Free from the prejudices of her time, Bella becomes steadfast in her determination to stand up for equality and liberation. The film is based on the book of the same name by Alasdair Gray.
The FIPRESCI Grand Prix will be presented at the opening gala of the 72nd San Sebastian Festival.
Since its creation in 1999, the FIPRESCI Grand Prix has gone to Maren Ade, Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Jean-Luc Godard, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Michael Haneke, Aki Kaurismäki, Richard Linklater, Terrence Malick, George Miller, Cristian Mungiu and Chloé Zhao.