PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Raymund Ribay Gutierrez and Max Eve Eigenmann, director and actress of the film Verdict.
Director Raymund Ribay Gutierrez and Actress Max Eve Eigenmann join us in Venice to talk about their experience on Raymund’s first feature Verdict, here in the Orizzonti’s official competition. A gruelling journey through the harsh reality of bureaucracy in the common cases of domestic violence in the Philippines, Verdict avoids staticity in favour of a compelling and visceral style, where pain and frustration are tangible.
Verdict: Joy and her six-year-old daughter Angel live in Manila, with her husband, Dante, a small-time criminal. As so often in the past, Dante comes home drunk at night and beats Joy brutally. This time, he also hurts Angel. Joy grabs her daughter and flees to the local police post to finally get him sent to jail. Justice, Joy learns, takes time at best and is impossible to get at worst. Not without reason, she feels that she and her daughter are increasingly under threat.
Javier Bardem will be one of the major guests of the Rome Film Fest 2026, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award and presenting Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido.
A double victory for Woman Unknown, major prizes for established auteurs and a strong showing for political cinema, new talent and Italian performers. The complete verdict of the Venice Film Festival 2026.