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 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.
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.
Amos Gitai is an Israeli filmmaker, who was trained as an architect.
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 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 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 Grand Jury Prize was awarded to the Mexican-French art film thriller New Order. The Volpi Cup for Best Actor was won by Pierfrancesco Favino and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress was won by Vanessa Kirby. The Silver Lion for Best Direction was awarded to Kiyoshi Kurosawa for the movie Wife of a Spy.
And Tomorrow the Entire World is a 2020 German-French political drama film directed by Julia von Heinz. It premiered in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. It was selected as the German entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The title of the film is taken from the line "Today Germany belongs to us, and tomorrow the whole world" from the National Socialist propaganda song "The Rotten Bones Tremble".
In Between Dying is a 2020 internationally co-produced road drama film co-written, edited and directed by Hilal Baydarov. It was also co-produced by Carlos Reygadas and Joslyn Barnes, while Danny Glover and Susan Cohn Rockefeller serve as executive producers through their company Louverture Films. The film was selected to be shown in the main competition section of the 77th Venice International Film Festival.
The Macaluso Sisters is a 2020 Italian drama film co-written and directed by Emma Dante, based on her own 2014 play of the same name. It was entered in the main competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.
You Came Back is a 2020 Italian drama thriller film directed by Stefano Mordini, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Christopher Coake. It stars Stefano Accorsi, Valeria Golino, Maya Sansa and Serena Rossi.
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.
