Venice Film Festival facts for kids

The Doge's Palace in Piazza San Marco hosted the 1947 festival.

Aldo Moro and Pier Paolo Pasolini in Venice at a movie premiere in 1964.

The Venice Film Festival is a famous movie event held every year in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest movie festival in the world!

The festival started in August 1932. It was founded by Giuseppe Volpi and is part of the Venice Biennale, which is one of the world's oldest art exhibitions.

The festival takes place in late August or early September. It's held on the island of the Lido, which is in the Venice Lagoon. Movies are shown at the historic Palazzo del Cinema. This festival is still one of the most popular and fastest-growing film events globally.

The 80th Venice International Film Festival happened from August 30 to September 9, 2023.

Awards

Todd Phillips with the Golden Lion for his film Joker in 2019.

Valeria Golino winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in 2015.

Abraham Attah winning the Marcello Mastroianni Award in 2015.

The Venice Film Festival gives out many important awards. Here are some of them:

Main Competition Awards

These awards are for the best films and people involved in them.

• Golden Lion (Leone d'Oro): This is the top award for the best film shown at the festival.
• Grand Jury Prize: This award goes to the second-best film in the competition.
• Silver Lion (Leone d'Argento): This is given to the best director.
• Special Jury Prize: This award is for the third-best film.
• Volpi Cup (Coppa Volpi): This is awarded to the best actor and best actress.
  • See – Volpi Cup for Best Actor
  • See – Volpi Cup for Best Actress
• Golden Osella: This award is for the best screenplay (the movie script) or for great technical work like cinematography (how the movie is filmed) or music.
• Marcello Mastroianni Award: This award started in 1998. It honors the famous Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni. It is given to a new, rising actor or actress.
• Special Lion: This award celebrates the overall work of a director or actor in a film shown in the main competition.

Orizzonti Section Awards (Horizons)

This section looks for new and different kinds of films. It explores new ways movies can be made.

Since 2010, several awards have been given in this section:

• The Orizzonti Award for Feature Films (longer movies)
• The Special Orizzonti Jury Prize (for longer movies)
• The Orizzonti Award for Short Film (shorter movies)
• The Orizzonti Award for Medium-length Film (movies of a medium length)
• The Orizzonti Award for Best Director
• The Orizzonti Award for Best Actor
• The Orizzonti Award for Best Actress
• The Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay

Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days)

The Giornate degli Autori is a special section that runs alongside the main festival. It started in 2004 and focuses on films by directors and authors.

The awards in this section include:

• Giornate Degli Autori (GDA) Award
• Label Europa Cinema Award
• BNP Paribas People's Choice Award

Lion of the Future (Luigi De Laurentiis)

Lion of the Future

This award is for the best first-time feature film (a director's first long movie). It can be from any of the festival's sections. The winner gets US$100,000, which is split between the director and the producer.

Glory to the Filmmaker Award

Cinema Palace during the 2008 festival.

Cinema Palace during the 2017 festival.

The Glory to the Filmmaker Award celebrates people who have made a big impact on modern cinema. It has been supported by Jaeger-LeCoultre (2006-2020) and Cartier (2021-today).

Here are some of the winners:

Past Awards

Mussolini Cup

The Mussolini Cup was the main award from 1934 to 1942. It was given for the Best Italian Film and Best Foreign Film. The award was named after Italy's leader at the time, Benito Mussolini. It was stopped in 1943 when he was removed from power.

Mussolini Cup for Best Italian Film

Mussolini Cup for Best Foreign Film

Great Gold Medals

These awards were given to the Best Actor and Best Actress in the early days of the festival. They were later replaced by the Volpi Cup.

The first time this award was given to Katharine Hepburn for her role in Little Women.

Audience Referendum

In the very first festival in 1932, there was no official jury or prizes. Instead, the winners were chosen by popular vote, based on how many people watched the films. From this, the Best Director was Nikolai Ekk for Road to Life, and À Nous la Liberté by René Clair was voted Best Film.

Award for Best Director

See also

In Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Venecia para niños

• Venice Biennale
• Rome Film Festival