The Golden Lion is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced; this is an honorary award for people who have made an important contribution to cinema.
The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 27 August 2008 by Burn After Reading, and closed on 6 September 2008. International competition jury, led by Wim Wenders, awarded Golden Lion to The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky.
The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from 1 to 11 September 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was the head of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, and the closing film was Julie Taymor's The Tempest. John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival.
The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was presented with the Glory to the Film-maker award on 4 September, prior to the premiere of his upcoming film Wilde Salomé. Marco Bellocchio was awarded with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in September. The festival opened with the American film The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney, and closed with Damsels in Distress by Whit Stillman.
The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, organized by Venice Biennale, took place at Venice Lido from 29 August to 8 September 2012. The festival opened with the Indian director Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and closed with the Out of Competition film The Man Who Laughs, directed by Jean-Pierre Ameris. Terrence Malick's film To the Wonder was met with both boos and cheers from critics at its premiere.
The 72nd annual Venice International Film Festival took place from 2 to 12 September 2015. Alfonso Cuarón served as the president of the jury for the main competition. A restored version of Federico Fellini's film Amarcord was shown at the festival. The Venezuelan film From Afar by Lorenzo Vigas won the Golden Lion award.
The 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2016.
The 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017.
The 75th Venice International Film Festival was held from 29 August to 8 September 2018.
Gloria Mundi is a 2019 French drama film directed by Robert Guédiguian. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. At the Venice Film Festival, Ariane Ascaride won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
The Mafia Is No Longer What It Used to Be is a 2019 Italian satirical documentary film directed by Franco Maresco. It is intended as a follow-up to Belluscone: A Sicilian Story (2014). It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. At the Venice Film Festival, the film won the Special Jury Prize.
Martin Eden is a 2019 Italian-French historical romance drama film directed by Pietro Marcello. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Jack London, in a Naples-set background, and follows an illiterate sailor's journey to establish himself as a writer in post-war Italy.
The Mayor of Rione Sanità is a 2019 Italian crime drama film directed by Mario Martone, based on the 1960 play of the same name by Eduardo De Filippo. The film is intended as a modern take on the play, inspired by the theatrical adaptation directed by Martone in 2018, with several members of the cast returning. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
No.7 Cherry Lane is a 2019 Hong Kong-Chinese adult animated film directed by Yonfan, with animation by Zhang Gang. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It was also selected for the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation. At the Venice Film Festival, the film won the Best Screenplay Award.
An Officer and a Spy is a 2019 historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski about the Dreyfus affair, with a screenplay by Polanski and Robert Harris based on Harris's 2013 novel of the same name. The name J'accuse has its origins in Émile Zola's article in l'Aurore in January 1898 in which the famous author accused many people of France of continuing to support the increasingly blatantly erroneous accusations against Dreyfus.
The Perfect Candidate is a 2019 Saudi Arabian drama film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It was also selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
White on White is a 2019 Spanish-Chilean drama film directed by Théo Court. It was screened in the Horizons section at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. At the Venice Film Festival, Théo Court won the award for Best Director in the Horizons section. It was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 78th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021.
The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022. Noah Baumbach's White Noise was the festival's opening film, and Francesco Carrozzini's The Hanging Sun was the closing film.
