Venice Film Festival: Vincent Lindon best actor for “Playing with Fire”

Vincent Lindon was awarded the Best Actor prize at the 81st Venice Film Festival for his role in Play with fire, directed by Muriel and Delphine Coulin. The French actor, whose career is marked by intense and committed roles, plays a father facing his son's radicalization towards the extreme right, a role that earned him this prestigious distinction.

"I am extremely moved"

Receiving his award, Vincent Lindon, 65, expressed his emotion: "I am extremely moved [...] Thank you to the entire jury!" He wanted to salute the directors Muriel and Delphine Coulin, responsible for this film that addresses burning social issues. "It is very interesting to make a film with such an important social framework, especially today," he confided. "If as an actor, we can contribute to raising awareness or questioning, it is a great satisfaction."

This prize in Venice enriches a career already marked by distinctions, notably his interpretation prize at Cannes in 2016 for The law of the market.

A film at the heart of contemporary concerns

In Play with fire, Vincent Lindon plays a father who is distraught over the rise of radical ideas in his teenage son. This film, which highlights current social and political tensions, resonated strongly with the public and the jury at the Mostra.

This new recognition in Venice confirms Vincent Lindon as one of the essential figures of French cinema, capable of embodying with force and accuracy characters marked by the moral and social dilemmas of our time.

Alice Leroy