Venice Film Festival

Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica
International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art
Venice Cinema Palace on the Lido island
Location Venice, Italy
Founded 6 August 1932 (1932-08-06)
Awards Golden Lion
No. of films 87 in 2018
Website labiennale.org/en/cinema

The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (Italian: Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the "Big Three" film festivals, alongside the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.[1][2]

Founded in Venice in August 1932, the festival is part of the Venice Biennale, an exhibition of Italian art founded by the Venice City Council on 19 April 1893.[3] Today, the Biennale includes a range of separate events including: the International Art Exhibition; the International Festival of Contemporary Music; the International Theatre Festival; the International Architecture Exhibition; the International Festival of Contemporary Dance; the International Kids' Carnival; and the annual Venice Film Festival, which is arguably the best-known of all the events.

The festival in held annually in late August or early September on the island of the Lido in the Venice Lagoon. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. Since its inception the Venice Film Festival has grown into one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.

The 76th Venice International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from 28 August to 7 September 2019.[4]

History

1940s

The 1940s represent one of the most difficult moments for the festival itself. Nazi propaganda movie Heimkehr was presented in 1941 winning an award from the Italian Ministry of Popular Culture. With the advent of the conflict the situation degenerated to such a point that the editions of 1940, 1941 and 1942, subsequently are considered as if they did not happen because they were carried out in places far away from Lido.[5]

The festival resumed full speed in 1946, after the war. For the first time, the 1946 edition was held in the month of September, in accordance to an agreement with the newly-born Cannes Film Festival, which had just held its first review in the spring of that year. With the return of normalcy, Venice once again became a great icon of the film world.[5]

In 1947 the festival was held in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, a most magnificent backdrop for hosting a record 90 thousand participants. The 1947 festival is widely considered one of the most successful editions in the history of the festival.[5]

Development and closure

The Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro and Pier Paolo Pasolini together in Venice at the premiere of the movie The Gospel According to St. Matthew in 1964.

In 1963 the winds of change blow strongly during Luigi Chiarini’s directorship of the festival (1963–1968). During the years of his directorship, Chiarini aspired to renew the spirit and the structures of the festival, pushing for a total reorganization of the entire system. For six years the festival followed a consistent path, according to the rigid criteria put in place for the selection of works in competition, and took a firm stand against the political pressures and interference of more and more demanding movie studios, preferring the artistic quality of films to the growing commercialization of the film industry.

The social and political unrest of 1968 had strong repercussions on the Venice Bienniale. From 1969 to 1979 no prizes were awarded and the festival returned to the non-competitiveness of the first edition. In 1973, 1977 and 1978, the festival was not even held. The Golden Lion didn't make its return until 1980.[5]

The rebirth

Years Director
1979–1983 Carlo Lizzani
1983–1987 Gian Luigi Rondi
1987–1992 Guglielmo Biraghi
1992–1996 Gillo Pontecorvo
1996–1999 Felice Laudadio
1999–2002 Alberto Barbera
2002–2004 Moritz de Hadeln
2004–2012 Marco Müller
since 2012 Alberto Barbera

The long-awaited rebirth came in 1979, thanks to the new director Carlo Lizzani (1979–1983), who decided to restore the image and value the festival had lost over the last decade. The 1979 edition laid the foundation for the restoration of international prestige. In an attempt to create a more modern image of the festival, the neo-director created a committee of experts to assist in selecting the works and to increase the diversity of submissions to the festival.

Recent years

To celebrate the 70th edition of the festival, in 2013 the new section "Venezia 70 – Future Reloaded" was created.

During the recent years, under the direction of Alberto Barbera, the festival established itself as an Oscars launchpad[6], increasing the presence of American movies and hosting the world premieres of Academy Award-winning films such as Gravity (2013), Birdman (2014), Spotlight (2015), La La Land (2016) and The Shape of Water (2017).

In 2017 an new section for virtual-reality (VR) films was introduced.

In 2018 Roma by Alfonso Cuarón won the Golden Lion and became the first ever movie produced by Netflix to be awarded in a major film festival.[7]

Direction

The President of the Venice Biennale represents the festival in front of its financial partner, the public authorities and the media. He is chosen by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage. The current President is Paolo Baratta, appointed in 2008, who has previously held the position between 1998 and 2002.

The Director is responsible for the coordination of the events and is chosen by the President of the Venice Biennale and its delegates. The current Director is Alberto Barbera, appointed in 2012, who has previously held the position between 1999 and 2002. His current term will end in 2020.

Awards

The Film Festival's current awards are:

Official selection: In competition

Oshri Cohen winning the Golden Lion for the film Lebanon at the 2009 edition.
  • Golden Lion (Leone d'Oro), awarded to the best film screened in competition at the festival
See list of winners at Golden Lion
  • Silver Lion (Leone d'Argento), awarded to the best director in the competitive section
See list of winners at Silver Lion
  • Grand Jury Prize
See list of winners at Grand Jury Prize (Venice Film Festival)
  • Volpi Cup (Coppa Volpi), awarded to the best actor/actress
  • Special Jury Prize, awarded to one or two films
See list of winners at Special Jury Prize (Venice Film Festival)
  • Golden Osella, awarded to the Best Technical Contribution (to cinematographers, composers, etc.) and for the Best Screenplay.
See list of winners at Golden Osella
  • There are other awards that also recognize acting performances:
    • Marcello Mastroianni Award, instituted in 1998 in honor of the great Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni who died in 1996. The award was created to acknowledge an emerging actor or actress[8]
    • Special Lion, awarded for an overall work to a director or actor of a film presented in the main competition section.

Orizzonti section (Horizons)

This section is open to all "custom-format" works, with a wider view towards new trends in the expressive languages that converge in film.

Starting from the 67th edition of the festival, four awards of the Orizzonti section have been established:[9]

  • The Orizzonti Award for Feature Films
  • The Special Orizzonti Jury Prize (for feature films)
  • The Orizzonti Award for Short Film
  • The Orizzonti Award for Medium-length Film

Jaeger-LeCoultre partnership

Cinema Palace during the 65th Venice International Film Festival.
Cinema Palace during the 74th Venice International Film Festival.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award, organized in collaboration with Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2006. It is dedicated to personalities who have made a significant contribution to contemporary cinema.[10]

This is the list of winners:

YearDirectorNationality
2006Kitano TakeshiJapan
2007Abbas KiarostamiIran
2008Agnès VardaFrance
2009Sylvester StalloneUnited States
2010Mani RatnamIndia
2011Al PacinoUnited States
2012Spike LeeUnited States
2013Ettore ScolaItaly
2014John FordUnited States
2015Brian De PalmaUnited States
2016Amir NaderiIran
2017Stephen FrearsUnited Kingdom
2018Zhang YimouChina

Past awards

Mussolini Cup (Coppa Mussolini)

The Mussolini Cup was the top award from 1934 to 1942 for Best Italian and Best Foreign Film. Named after Italy's dictator Benito Mussolini, it was abandoned upon his ouster in 1943.[11][12]

Mussolini Cup for Best Italian film

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)
1934Loyalty of LoveTeresa ConfalonieriGuido Brignone
1935Casta DivaCasta divaCarmine Gallone
1936The White SquadronLo squadrone biancoAugusto Genina
1937Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of HannibalScipione l'africanoCarmine Gallone
1938Luciano Serra, PilotLuciano Serra pilotaGoffredo Alessandrini
1939Cardinal MessiasAbuna MessiasGoffredo Alessandrini
1940The Siege of the Alcazar L'assedio dell'AlcazarAugusto Genina
1941The Iron CrownLa corona di ferroAlessandro Blasetti
1942BengasiBengasiAugusto Genina

Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment

"Le Grandi Medaglie d’Oro dell’Associazione Nazionale Fascista dello Spettacolo" in Italian.

This was awarded to Best Actor and Best Actress. It was later replaced by the Volpi Cup for actors and actresses.[11]

The first time this prize was awarded to Katharine Hepburn for her role in Little Women by George Cukor.[11]

Audience Referendum

In the first edition of the festival in 1932, due to the lack of a jury and the awarding of official prizes, a list of acknowledgements was decided by popular vote, a tally determined by the number of people flocking to the films, and announced by the Organizing Committee. From this, the Best Director was declared – Russian Nikolai Ekk for the film Road to Life, while the film by René Clair À Nous la Liberté was voted Best Film.

Award for Best Director

YearDirector(s)TitleOriginal title
1935King VidorThe Wedding Night
1936Jacques FeyderCarnival in FlandersLa Kermesse Héroique
1937Robert J. Flaherty and Zoltan KordaElephant Boy
1938Carl FroelichMagdaHeimat

See also

References

  1. Anderson, Ariston. "Venice: David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn,' Abel Ferrara's 'Pasolini' in Competition Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  2. "Addio, Lido: Last Postcards from the Venice Film Festival". TIME. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. "La Biennale di Venezia – The origin". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  4. Venice Biennale site.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Venice Film Festival". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. "Best program ever: Mike Leigh, Coens and Cuaron set for Venice film festival". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  7. "Venice Film Festival winner list". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. "Carnival of Venice, Marcello Mastroianni Award". Carnival of Venice. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  9. "Four new "Orizzonti" awards". labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  10. "Carnival of Venice, Portale di Venezia® – The 1930s". Carnival of Venice. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "La Biennale di Venezia – The 30s". Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  12. "Golden Lions and major awards of the Venice Film Festival". labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 14 April 2004. Retrieved 22 July 2018.

Coordinates: 45°24′22″N 12°22′02″E / 45.405975°N 12.367290°E / 45.405975; 12.367290

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