An Irish co-production, Poor Things, has been named 'Best Film', taking the prestigious Golden Lion (Leone d'Oro), at the 80th edition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival worldwide and is considered one of the 'Big Five' film festivals annually, alongside Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance.

Awards are decided by a jury of industry experts, with this year’s panel led by American director Damien Chazelle of Whiplash, La La Land, Babylon, etc. Martin McDonagh, the British-Irish film-maker, was also part of this year’s jury.

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things. Photo by Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

Poor Things, the science fiction dark comedy, was directed by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, with Irish studio Element Pictures co-producing the film, alongside Searchlight Pictures and Film4.

The quartet of creatives have successfully collaborated in the past on The Favourite, the 2019 Oscar-nominated feature film.

Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element Pictures produced Poor Things, having a close relationship with Lanthimos' after previously producing all of the directors' English-language films, including The Favourite, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and The Lobster.

Element Pictures have also produced TV series 'Normal People', 'Conversations with Friends' and 'The Dry', as well as films Room and The Wonder.

Emma Stone in Poor Things.

Emma Stone both stars and acts as co-producer for Poor Things alongside Mark Ruffalo and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe. The film is an adaptation of the 1992 Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name - a Victorian tale inspired heavily by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Described as "a Victorian tale of love, discovery and scientific daring", Poor Things follows the story of Belle Baxter, a young woman who is brought back to life by an odd but fantastic scientist.

The film is set for release in Ireland on January 12, 2024.

Check out the trailer for Poor Things below!