A still from ‘Joker’.

The 2019 Venice International Film Festival concluded recently, and Todd Phillips' Joker was one of the top award winners. The festival's big prize, The Golden Lion, was awarded to the upcoming Batman villain prequel film starring Joaquin Phoenix, leading many to wonder what that means for the upcoming awards season as historically, films that win The Golden Lion go on to sweep American awards like the Oscars and Golden Globes. Most recently, last year's winner was Alfonso Cuarbn's Roma, which won three Oscars, and the year before that, Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water won The Golden Lion and then Best Picture at the Oscars. Joker debuted to rave reviews at Venice earlier.