Venice International Film Festival (Italian. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica) – is one of the oldest international film festivals and an important event in the world of cinema. It is held annually in autumn (more often in August-September) on the island of Lido (Italy) and lasts about two weeks.
The festival was founded in 1932 on the initiative of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Its history was interrupted twice – during the Second World War and in the late 1960s, but not for long.
The main competitive – main – program of the festival includes full-length feature films that have never been shown to the public before and have not participated in other festivals. Usually there are about 20 such paintings. Their selection is carried out by the festival director and a commission of five experts, as well as a group of foreign consultants. The list of selected films is kept strictly secret until the official announcement.
The international jury of the main competition of the festival includes from 7 to 9 people – are figures of cinema, art, and culture.
The main prize of the festival «Golden Lion» is awarded to the Best Film. Also awarded are the «Silver Lion» – for best director, Volpi Cup for best actor and best actress, Marcello Mastroianni Prize – for best young actor or actress, Osella – prize for best screenplay, cinematography, outstanding technical merits, etc.
There is also a Special Jury Prize, which is awarded at the request of the jury to the director, actor or actress (who worked on the film in the competition program) for their total contribution to cinema. In addition, the best first and second works of young filmmakers are awarded, and an award is presented for the best creative and professional cooperation. Based on the results of all sections of the festival, the Luigi Di Laurentiis Prize is also awarded.
In addition to the main awards of the film festival, in agreement with the organizers of the event, public and other organizations can establish additional prizes, which are awarded to competitive works outside the award ceremony for official winners. These are various awards established by FIPRESCI, critics' associations, etc.
During the existence of the festival, many famous directors, actors, and cameramen received its prizes... The largest number of prizes were awarded to the works of Luchino Visconti – five awards (one main). Louis Malle, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Flaherty and Elia Kazan have repeatedly received awards. Among the Russian actors, – awards were awarded to Mikhail Ulyanov, Sergei Yutkevich, Anatoly Golovnya, Ksenia Rappoport, Oleg Borisov, Natalia Arinbasarova and others over the years.
Among the Russian films that were awarded film festival prizes over the years were – « Ivanovo childhood» A. Tarkovsky, «Urga» N. Mikhalkova, «Spring» G. Alexandrova, «Oath» M. Chiaureli, «Admiral Nakhimov» V. Pudovkina, «Hamlet» G. Kozintseva, «World to incoming» A. Alova and V. Naumova, «Sadko» A. Ptushko, «Skip in life» N. Ecca, «They call, open the door» A. Mitty, «Morozko» A. Rowe, «Charmed Islands» A. Zguridi, «Paper soldier» A. Germana, «First on the Moon» and «Oatmeal» A. Fedorchenko, «Return» A. Zvyagintseva, «House of Fools», «White nights of postman Alexey Tryapitsyn» and «Rai» A. Konchalovsky, «Faust» A. Sokurova and others.
In addition to the competition program, the festival screening also consists of the following main parts: Program «Horizons» (Orizzonti), which includes feature films and documentaries presenting new trends in the development of cinema; Short film competition (Corto Cortissimo) – is a competition of feature and animated short films; Non-competitive screening where the most outstanding world premieres released this year are shown; Independent and Parallel Film Section; International Criticism Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica); Authors' Film Competition (Giornate degli Autori). And, of course, throughout the festival there is a Film Market, where the largest trading companies offer distributors from all over the world the latest new film productions.