Venice Film Festival

1930s During the 1930s, the government and Italian citizens were heavily interested in film. Of the money Italians spent on cultural or sporting events, most of it went for movies. The majority of films screened in Italy were American, which led to government involvement in the film industry and the yearning to celebrate Italian culture in general. With this in mind, the Venice International Film Festival was created by Giuseppe Volpi, Luciano de Feo, and Antonio Maraini in 1932. 1936 marked another important development in the festival. A law crafted by the Ministry of Popular Culture made the festival an autonomous entity, separate from the main Venice Biennale. This allowed additional fascist organizations, such as the Department of Cinema and the Fascist National Federation of Entertainment Industries, to control it. Development and closure 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 blew 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 due to the Years of Lead. In 1973, 1977 and 1978, the festival was not even held. The Golden Lion did not make its return until 1980. 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), The Shape of Water (2017), A Star Is Born (2018), The Favourite (2018), Roma (2018), Joker (2019), Nomadland (2020), Dune (2021), The Whale (2022), Poor Things (2023),The Brutalist (2024) and Frankenstein (2025). In 2017 a new section for virtual reality films was introduced. Initially this section was called Venice Virtual Reality, but in 2022 the organisation announced the new name to be Venice Immersive. The Venice Film Festival was the first of the "Big Five" international film festivals worldwide to introduce virtual reality to the festival program. Therefore, Venice Immersive quickly became the most important podium for the emerging medium within film to date. In 2018 Roma by Alfonso Cuarón won the Golden Lion and became the first movie produced by a streaming service, Netflix, to win at a major film festival. ==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 Culture every 4 years. The current president is Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, appointed in March 2024. Previously the post has been held by Paolo Baratta (2008–2020) and Roberto Cicutto (2020–2024). The director of the Festival is responsible for coordinating the events and is chosen by the president of the Venice Biennale and its delegates. The current director Alberto Barbera was appointed in December 2011. On 27 October 2020 Barbera's term was renewed for 4 more years until 2024. In May 2024, his last mandate was extended until 2026. He previously held the position from 1998 to 2002. == Festival programme ==

The goal of the Venice Film Festival is to "raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms, including art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue." The Venice Film Festival is organized in various sections: • Official Selection - The main event of the festival. • In Competition - About 21 films competing for the Golden Lion. • Out of Competition - Maximum of 18 important works of the year will be presented but do not compete for the main prize. • Orizzonti - The films that represent the latest trends in international cinema by young talents will be presented. • Venice Classics - Selection of the finest restoration of classic films will be featured. • Sconfini - Maximum of 10 works that typically includes art house and genre films, experimental works, TV series and cross-media productions will be featured. • Venice Immersive - Maximum of 30 works in competition and out of competition will be presented. • Independent and Parallel Sections - These are alternative programmes dedicated to discover other aspects of cinema. • International Critics' Week - No more than 8 debut films will be screened with its own regulations. • Giornate degli Autori - No more than 12 films will be promoted by ANAC and 100 Autori Association. ==Awards==

with the Golden Lion won by his film Joker at the 2019 edition winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in 2015 for Per amor vostro winning the Marcello Mastroianni Award in 2015 for Beasts of No Nation The Film Festival has four Juries to judge the entries: Venezia 79, Orizzonti, Premio Venezia Opera Prima "Luigi De Laurentiis", and Venice Immersive. The Film Festival's current awards are: Official selection: In competition • Golden Lion (''Leone d'Oro''), awarded to the best film screened in competition at the festival. The award was introduced in 1949 as the Golden Lion of San Marco • Grand Jury Prize, awarded to the second best film screened in competition at the festival • Silver Lion (''Leone d'Argento''), awarded to the best director in the competitive section • Special Jury Prize, awarded to the third best film screened in competition at the festival • Volpi Cup (Coppa Volpi), awarded to the best actor/actress • See – Volpi Cup for Best Actor • See – Volpi Cup for Best Actress • Best Screenplay, awarded to the best screenwriter in the competitive section • Golden Osella (''Osella d'Oro''), awarded for outstanding creative and technical contributions • Marcello Mastroianni Award, instituted in 1998 in honor of Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni, who died in 1996. The award was created to acknowledge an emerging actor or actress • Special Lion, awarded for an overall work to a director or actor of a film presented in the main competition section. Orizzonti (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: • 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 More awards were added in the following years: The awards under this section are: • Venice Immersive Grand Prize (Gran Premio) • Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize (Premio Speciale della Giuria) • Venice Immersive Achievement Prize (Premio per la Realizzazione) Giornate degli Autori The Giornate degli Autori (formerly Venice Days) is an independent and parallel section founded in 2004 in association with Venice Film Festival. It is modeled on the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Anac and 100autori which are both associations of Italian film directors and authors are engaged to support and promote the Giornate. The awards under this sections are: • Giornate Degli Autori (GDA) Award • Label Europa Cinema Award • BNP Paribas People's Choice Award === Lion of the Future (Luigi De Laurentis) === All the debut feature films in the various competitive sections in the Venice Film Festival, whether in Official Selection or Independent and Parallel Sections, are eligible for this award. The winner will be awarded a prize of US$100,000, which to be divided equally between the director and the producer. ==Past awards==

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 awarded to Russian Nikolai Ekk for the film Road to Life, while by René Clair was voted Best Film. Mussolini Cup () 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 ousting in 1943. Mussolini Cup for Best Italian film Mussolini Cup for Best foreign film Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment was awarded to Best Actor and Best Actress. It was later replaced by the Volpi Cup for actors and actresses. The first time this prize was awarded to Katharine Hepburn for her role in Little Women by George Cukor. Award for Best Director ==See also==