Emma Stone Wins Top Award at Venice Film Festival

Emma Stone won Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her role in La La Land.

The 27-year-old boosted her Oscar nomination chances after scooping the award for best actress at the 73rd annual film festival on Saturday.

She plays Mia in the Hollywood-set musical movie La La Land, an aspiring actress who falls for Ryan Gosling’s Sebastian, a jazz pianist. The film is impressing critics, and Stone is rumored to be heading for an Academy Award nomination next year.

Stone is currently on her way to the Toronto International Film Festival for the film’s premiere there, and pre-taped her acceptance speech for the Venice awards.

“I wish I was back there because Venice and Italy are so amazing and I can think of no better place than Venice to have premiered La La Land. We had such an amazing time and I will never forget it,” she said.

“I have to thank Ryan Gosling for being my partner on this movie, and especially (director and writer) Damien Chazelle for casting me. It was a dream come true,” Stone added.

La La Land hits cinemas on December 2.

It was an impressive day for films at the festival, with designer-turned-director Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, scooping the Grand Jury prize.

Jackie, the biopic of Jacqueline Kennedy starring Natalie Portman, also won gold, taking home the award for the Best Screenplay for writer Noah Oppenheim.