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 International Film Festival in Canada and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. These festivals are internationally renowned 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. It focuses on contemporary art, and includes events for art, contemporary dance, architecture, cinema, and theatre. Two main components of the festival are known as the Art Biennale and the Architecture Biennale, which are held in alternating years. The others – Biennale Musica, Biennale Teatro, Venice Film Festival, and Venice Dance Biennale – are held annually. The main exhibition held in Castello alternates between art and architecture, and there are around 30 permanent pavilions built by different countries.
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 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 57th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 30 August to 9 September 2000.
The 8th Venice International Film Festival was held from 23 August to 15 September 1947. Screenwriter Vinicio Marinucci was appointed as the president of the jury. Formally, it still was not the Golden Lion to designate the highest honor of the event. The prize was known as the Grand International Prize of Venice, which was awarded to The Strike, directed by Karel Steklý.
The 14th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 20 August to 4 September 1953.
The 15th Venice International Film Festival was held from 22 August to 7 September 1954.
The 16th Venice International Film Festival was held from 25 August to 10 September 1955.
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.
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 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017.
The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019.
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.
Michele Sambin is an Italian theatre director and artist.
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is an award given at the Venice Film Festival. It is awarded to directors, actors and other personalities from the world of cinema who have distinguished themselves in the art. Among the winners are Charlie Chaplin, Manoel de Oliveira, Stanley Kubrick, Alida Valli, Sophia Loren and many other figures of international film. It joins the Golden Lion, the festival's highest prize, which is instead awarded to a film in competition.
