Golden Lion (Leone d'Oro) | |
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Location | Venice |
Country | Italy |
Presented by | Venice Film Festival |
First awarded | 1949 |
Currently held by | Nomadland (2020) |
Website | http://www.labiennale.org/ ![]() |
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 (the winged lion which had appeared on the flag of the 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. Seven 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, and Chloé Zhao.
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 five women have ever won the Golden Lion for directing: Margarethe von Trotta, Agnès Varda, Mira Nair, Sofia Coppola, and Chloé Zhao.
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]
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival is the world's oldest film festival and one of the "Big Three" film festivals, alongside the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. The Big Three are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.
The Venice Biennale refers to an arts organization based in Venice and the name of the original and principal biennial exhibition the organization presents. The organization changed its name to the Biennale Foundation in 2009, while the exhibition is now called the Art Biennale to distinguish it from the organization and other exhibitions the Foundation organizes.
The 62nd annual Venice International Film Festival opened on 31 August 2005 with Tsui Hark's Seven Swords and closed on 10 September 2005 with a screening of Peter Ho-sun Chan's musical Perhaps Love. The lineups were announced by the festival director Marco Müller on 28 July 2005 in Rome. The digital films can compete in all categories for the first time of the festival history.
Venice Biennale of Architecture also known as Mostra di Architettura di Venezia – in its original language, Italian – is an International exhibition held every other year on even years in Venice, Italy, in which architecture from nations around the world is presented. It is the architecture section under the overall Venice Biennale and was officially established in 1980, even though architecture had been a part of the Venice Art Biennale since 1968.
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 Silver Lion refers to a number of awards presented at the Venice Film Festival. The prize is awarded irregularly and has gone through several changes of purpose. Until 1995, the award was infrequently given to a number of films as second prize for those nominated for the Golden Lion. At various times, the Silver Lion has also been awarded for debut films, short films, and direction.
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 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 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 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 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 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 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017. The jury president was announced as the actress Annette Bening on 5 July 2017. Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Lion, the highest prize given by the festival, was awarded to The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
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.
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. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. The Ties, directed by Daniele Luchetti, was selected as the opening film, the first Italian film in 11 years to open the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao.
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
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