Golden Lion | |
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Leone d'oro (Italian) | |
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Location | Venice |
Country | Italy |
Presented by | Venice Film Festival |
First awarded | 1949 |
Currently held by | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) |
Website | labiennale.org/cinema |
The Golden Lion (Italian : Leone d'oro) 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. [1] In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced; this is an honorary award for people who have made an important contribution to cinema.
The prize was introduced in 1949 as the Golden Lion of Saint Mark (which was one of the best known symbols of the ancient Republic of Venice). [2] In 1954, the prize was permanently named Golden Lion. Previously, the equivalent prize was the Gran Premio Internazionale di Venezia (Grand International Prize of Venice), awarded in 1947 and 1948. Before that, from 1934 until 1942, the highest awards were the Coppa Mussolini (Mussolini Cup) for Best Italian Film and Best Foreign Film.
The prize was first awarded in 1949. Previously, the equivalent prize was the Gran Premio Internazionale di Venezia(Grand International Prize of Venice), awarded in 1947 and 1948. No Golden Lions were awarded between 1969 and 1979. According to the Biennale's official website, this hiatus was a result of the 1968 Lion being awarded to the radically experimental Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos ; the website says that the awards "still had a statute dating back to the fascist era and could not side-step the general political climate. Sixty-eight produced a dramatic fracture with the past". [3] Fourteen French films have been awarded the Golden Lion, more than that of any other nation. However, there is considerable geographical diversity in the winners. Eight American filmmakers have won the Golden Lion, with awards for John Cassavetes and Robert Altman (both times the awards were shared with other winners who tied), as well as Ang Lee ( Brokeback Mountain was the first winning US film not to tie), Darren Aronofsky, Sofia Coppola, Todd Phillips, Chloé Zhao, and Laura Poitras.
Although prior to 1980, only three of 21 winners were of non-European origin, since the 1980s, the Golden Lion has been presented to a number of Asian filmmakers, particularly in comparison to the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, which has only been awarded to five Asian filmmakers since 1980. The Golden Lion, by contrast, has been awarded to ten Asians during the same time period, with two of these filmmakers winning it twice. Ang Lee won the Golden Lion twice within three years during the 2000s, once for an American film and once for a Chinese-language film. Zhang Yimou has also won twice. Other Asians to win the Golden Lion since 1980 include Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang, Trần Anh Hùng, Takeshi Kitano, Kim Ki-duk, Jafar Panahi, Mira Nair, and Lav Diaz. Russian filmmakers have also won the Golden Lion several times, including since the end of the USSR.
Still, to date 33 of the 54 winners were European men (including Soviet/Russian winners). Since 1949, only seven women have ever won the Golden Lion for directing: Margarethe von Trotta, Agnès Varda, Mira Nair, Sofia Coppola, Chloé Zhao, Audrey Diwan, and Laura Poitras (though in 1938, German director Leni Riefenstahl won the Festival when its highest award was the Coppa Mussolini).
In 2019, Joker became the first movie based on original comic book characters to win the prize. [4]
The following films received the Golden Lions or the major awards of the Venice Film Festival: [5]
Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Country of origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
1940s | ||||
1946: Awarded as "Best Feature Film" | ||||
1946 (7th) | The Southerner | Jean Renoir | United States | |
1947–1948: Awarded as "Grand International Prize of Venice" | ||||
1947 (8th) | The Strike | Siréna | Karel Steklý | Czechoslovakia |
1948 (9th) | Hamlet | Laurence Olivier | United Kingdom | |
1949–1953: Awarded as "Golden Lion of Saint Mark" | ||||
1949 (10th) | Manon | Henri-Georges Clouzot | France | |
1950s | ||||
1950 (11th) | Justice Is Done | Justice est faite | André Cayatte | France |
1951 (12th) | Rashomon | 羅生門 | Akira Kurosawa | Japan |
1952 (13th) | Forbidden Games | Jeux interdits | René Clément | France |
1953 (14th) | No award because the jury was unable to decide the winner. The prize was declared void. [6] [7] | |||
1954–present: Awarded as "Golden Lion" | ||||
1954 (15th) | Romeo and Juliet | Renato Castellani | United Kingdom | |
1955 (16th) | Ordet | Carl Theodor Dreyer | Denmark | |
1956 (17th) | No award because there was a tie between The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴) by Kon Ichikawa (Japan) and Calle Mayor by Juan Antonio Bardem (Spain) and the international jury was unable to decide the winner. The prize was declared void. [8] | |||
1957 (18th) | Aparajito | Ôporajito | Satyajit Ray | India |
1958 (19th) | Rickshaw Man | 無法松の一生 | Hiroshi Inagaki | Japan |
1959 (20th) | General Della Rovere # | Il generale della Rovere | Roberto Rossellini | France, Italy |
The Great War # | La grande guerra | Mario Monicelli | France, Italy | |
1960s | ||||
1960 (21st) | Tomorrow Is My Turn | Le Passage du Rhin | André Cayatte | France |
1961 (22nd) | Last Year at Marienbad | L'année dernière à Marienbad | Alain Resnais | France |
1962 (23rd) | Family Diary # | Cronaca familiare | Valerio Zurlini | Italy |
Ivan's Childhood # | Ива́ново де́тство | Andrei Tarkovsky | Soviet Union | |
1963 (24th) | Hands over the City | Le mani sulla città | Francesco Rosi | Italy |
1964 (25th) | Red Desert | Il deserto rosso | Michelangelo Antonioni | Italy |
1965 (26th) | Sandra | Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa ... | Luchino Visconti | Italy |
1966 (27th) | The Battle of Algiers | La battaglia di Algeri | Gillo Pontecorvo | Algeria, Italy |
1967 (28th) | Belle de Jour | Luis Buñuel | France | |
1968 (29th) | Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed | Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos | Alexander Kluge | West Germany |
1969 (30th) | No award because this edition of the festival was not competitive. [9] | |||
1970s | ||||
1970 (31st) | No award because this edition of the festival was not competitive. [10] | |||
1971 (32nd) | No award because this edition of the festival was not competitive. [10] | |||
1972 (33rd) | No awards because this edition of the festival was not competitive. [10] | |||
1973 | The festival was not organized. [11] | |||
1974 1975 1976 | The festival was not organized. During these years, a cinema section within the Biennale was organized with "proposals for new films", tributes, retrospectives, and conventions, including some screenings. [10] | |||
1977 | The festival was not organized. There was an event integrated into the Biennale project on "cultural dissent" focused on cinema in Eastern Europe. [10] | |||
1978 | The festival was not organized. [10] | |||
1979 (36th) | No award because this edition of the festival was not competitive. [12] | |||
1980s | ||||
1980 (37th) | Atlantic City # | Louis Malle | Canada | |
Gloria # | John Cassavetes | United States | ||
1981 (38th) | Marianne and Juliane | Die Bleierne Zeit | Margarethe von Trotta | West Germany |
1982 (39th) | The State of Things | Der Stand der Dinge | Wim Wenders | West Germany |
1983 (40th) | First Name: Carmen | Prénom Carmen | Jean-Luc Godard | France |
1984 (41st) | A Year of the Quiet Sun | Rok spokojnego słońca | Krzysztof Zanussi | Poland |
1985 (42nd) | Vagabond | Sans toit ni loi | Agnès Varda | France |
1986 (43rd) | The Green Ray | Le Rayon vert | Éric Rohmer | France |
1987 (44th) | Au revoir les enfants | Louis Malle | France, West Germany | |
1988 (45th) | The Legend of the Holy Drinker | La leggenda del santo bevitore | Ermanno Olmi | Italy, France |
1989 (46th) | A City of Sadness | 悲情城市 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan |
1990s | ||||
1990 (47th) | Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | United Kingdom, United States | |
1991 (48th) | Close to Eden | У́рга – территория любви | Nikita Mikhalkov | Soviet Union |
1992 (49th) | The Story of Qiu Ju | 秋菊打官司 | Zhang Yimou | China |
1993 (50th) | Short Cuts # | Robert Altman | United States | |
Three Colours: Blue # | Trois couleurs: Bleu | Krzysztof Kieślowski | France, Poland | |
1994 (51st) | Before the Rain # | Пред дождот | Milčo Mančevski | Macedonia |
Vive L'Amour # | 愛情萬歲 | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan | |
1995 (52nd) | Cyclo | Xích lô | Anh Hung Tran | Vietnam, France |
1996 (53rd) | Michael Collins | Neil Jordan | Ireland, United Kingdom, United States | |
1997 (54th) | Hana-bi | はなび | Takeshi Kitano | Japan |
1998 (55th) | The Way We Laughed | Così ridevano | Gianni Amelio | Italy |
1999 (56th) | Not One Less | 一個都不能少 | Zhang Yimou | China |
2000s | ||||
2000 (57th) | The Circle | دایره | Jafar Panahi | Iran |
2001 (58th) | Monsoon Wedding | Mira Nair | India | |
2002 (59th) | The Magdalene Sisters | Peter Mullan | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
2003 (60th) | The Return | Возвращение | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Russia |
2004 (61st) | Vera Drake | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom | |
2005 (62nd) | Brokeback Mountain | Ang Lee | United States | |
2006 (63rd) | Still Life | 三峡好人 | Jia Zhangke | China |
2007 (64th) | Lust, Caution | 色,戒 | Ang Lee | Taiwan, China, United States |
2008 (65th) | The Wrestler | Darren Aronofsky | United States | |
2009 (66th) | Lebanon | לבנון | Samuel Maoz | Israel |
2010s | ||||
2010 (67th) | Somewhere § | Sofia Coppola | United States | |
2011 (68th) | Faust § | Alexander Sokurov | Russia | |
2012 (69th) | Pietà | 피에타 | Kim Ki-duk | South Korea |
2013 (70th) | Sacro GRA | Gianfranco Rosi | Italy | |
2014 (71st) | A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence | En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron | Roy Andersson | Sweden |
2015 (72nd) | From Afar | Desde allá | Lorenzo Vigas | Venezuela |
2016 (73rd) | The Woman Who Left | Ang Babaeng Humayo | Lav Diaz | Philippines |
2017 (74th) | The Shape of Water | Guillermo del Toro | United States | |
2018 (75th) | Roma | Alfonso Cuarón | Mexico | |
2019 (76th) | Joker | Todd Phillips | United States | |
2020s | ||||
2020 (77th) | Nomadland | Chloé Zhao | United States | |
2021 (78th) | Happening § | L'Événement | Audrey Diwan | France |
2022 (79th) | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | Laura Poitras | United States |
Four directors have won the award twice:
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 Five" International film festivals worldwide, which include the Big Three European Film Festivals, alongside the Toronto Film Festival in Canada and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. The Festivals are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.
The Venice Biennale is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of its kind. The main exhibition held in Castello, in the halls of the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens, alternates between art and architecture. The other events hosted by the Foundation—spanning theatre, music, and dance—are held annually in various parts of Venice, whereas the Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido.
The Silver Lion is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998.
The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the festival. The 1st ceremony was held in 1932, when Helen Hayes received the Volpi Cup for the title role in The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)—this was the only time that the award was chosen by public voting. From 1942 to 1945, the festival was suspended because of World War II. The student protests in May 1968 opened a period of institutional changes, with no prizes were awarded from 1969 to 1979.
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 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 14th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 20 August to 4 September 1953. The Golden Lion of Saint Mark was not awarded this year. The jury, having examined the films in competition and noting the considerable average high level of the motion pictures presented, found that no work prevailed in terms of absolute value. In accordance with article 20 of the 1953 regulation, the jury requested from the president of the festival the authorization not to award the Grand Prix, which was finally granted. Instead, the jury decided to award the Silver Lion to six films.
The 30th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 23 August to 5 September 1969. There was no jury because from 1969 to 1979 the festival was not competitive.
The 17th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 9 September 1956. No Golden Lion was given because there was a tie between The Burmese Harp (Japan) and Calle Mayor (Spain). The international jury was unable to decide the winner and the award was declared void.
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 Special Jury Prize is an official award given at the Venice Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition slate since 2013. It is considered the third most prestigious prize at the festival, the runner-up to both the main award Golden Lion and the second place award Grand Jury Prize.
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.
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The 78th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho was appointed as the President of the Jury, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked as the festival's top juror. Serena Rossi hosted the opening and closing nights. The Golden Lion was awarded to Happening directed by Audrey Diwan.
The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022.
The report began with a few sentences of praise for each of the 14 films[ sic ], and then selected the Japanese Harp of Burma and the Spanish Calle Mayor as being particularly outstanding. Since the jury was unable to decide which of these two films was the superior, it had decided not to award a grand prix "St. Mark Golden Lion" this year.
Carlo Lizzani, leftist director and the festival's new president, has not so far managed to restore the "Golden Lion" awards presented at Venice until 1968