The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the "Big Six" International film festivals worldwide, which include the Big Three European Film Festivals, alongside the Toronto Film Festival in Canada the Sundance Film Festival in the United States and the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia. The Festivals are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.
The 63rd annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 30 August 2006 with Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia and was closed on 9 September 2006. Host of the event was Italian actress Isabella Ferrari. During the festival, retrospectives were held on the one hundredth anniversary of the births of three major Italian directors: Roberto Rossellini, Mario Soldati and Luchino Visconti. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to American director David Lynch. All the films running the contest were shown for the first time as world premiere in the festival history since the Second World War.
The 64th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, opened on 29 August 2007, with Joe Wright's Atonement and closed 8 September 2007. Host of the event was Italian actress Ambra Angiolini. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to American director Tim Burton. Once again all the films running the contest were shown for the first time as world premieres in keeping with the festival tradition since the Second World War.
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 Leone d'Oro to The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky.
The 61st annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 1 and 11 September 2004. The festival opened with Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, and closed with Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy. The Golden Lion was awarded to the film Vera Drake, directed by Mike Leigh.
The 59th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 29 August to 8 September 2002. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Magdalene Sisters directed by Peter Mullan.
The 66th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was held from 2 to 12 September 2009, with Maria Grazia Cucinotta serving as the festival's hostess. The opening film of the festival was Baarìa by Giuseppe Tornatore and the closing film was Chengdu, I Love You by Fruit Chan and Cui Jian. The international competition jury, chaired by Ang Lee, awarded the Golden Lion to Lebanon by Samuel Maoz.
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 43rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held on 30 August to 10 September, 1986. It was the last edition directed by Gian Luigi Rondi.
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 70th annual Venice International Film Festival took place in Venice, Italy from 28 August to 7 September 2013. American film director William Friedkin was presented with a lifetime achievement award. Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was the President of the Jury. He was previously the President of the Jury at the 40th edition in 1983. Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, was the opening film of the festival. Italian actress Eva Riccobono hosted the opening and closing nights of the festival.
The "7th" annual (void) Venice International Film Festival was held from 8 August to 1 September 1939. This edition has been strongly influenced by the Fascist regime and was deserted by the United States of America. The Mussolini Cup was won by the historical film Cardinal Messias, while the other main prizes were not awarded.
The "10th" annual (void) Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 5 September 1942. The events were hosted at places far away from the Lido and very few countries participated due to World War II and directors that were members of the Rome-Berlin axis. Additionally, a strong fascist political meddling from the Italian fascist government under Benito Mussolini had led to Italy experiencing a period of cultural depression oppressed by fascist propaganda. It is the last edition before the suspension for the Second World War.
The 24th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 24 August to 7 September 1963.
The 19th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 24 August to 7 September 1958.
The 71st annual Venice International Film Festival took place in Venice, Italy between 27 August to 6 September 2014. The festival opened with Alejandro G. Iñárritu's film Birdman, and closed with Ann Hui's drama film The Golden Era. Italian actress Luisa Ranieri hosted the opening and closing nights of the festival. The Swedish film A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, directed by Roy Andersson, won the Golden Lion, and Joshua Oppenheimer's The Look of Silence won the Grand Jury Prize.
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 Volpi Cup for Best Actor is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. The name and number of prizes have been changed several times since their introduction, ranging from two to four awards per edition and sometimes acknowledging both leading and supporting performances.
The 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2016. English director Sam Mendes was the President of the Jury for the main competition. The opening night film was Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land. The Golden Lion was awarded to Lav Diaz's film The Woman Who Left.
The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019. Film director Lucrecia Martel was appointed as the President of the Jury. The Truth, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to Joker, directed by Todd Phillips.
