The Venice Film Festival has been bestowing a best film prize (first the Grand International Prize of Venice frin 1946-1948, then the Golden Lion from 1949-present) for over seven decades. The honor is considered one of the most prestigious in world cinema and has been given to the likes of Tarkovsky, Godard, Varda, and more. As another edition of the Venice Film Festival kicks off, catch up on your Venice history with these must-see Golden Lion winners.
Jean Renoir’s Texas family drama won the first Venice Film Festival in 1946. The filmmaker was later named the best director of the year by the National Board of Review. “The Southerner” earned Renior an Oscar nomination for directing as well.
Akira Kurosawa won the Golden Lion for “Rashomon” in 1951. The drama, starring Toshiro Mifune, is famous for its plot device in which the same story is told from three different perspectives. The filmmaker later was given a Golden Lion Honorary Award by the festival in 1982.
Carl Theodor Dreyer is best known for films “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) and “Vampyr” (1932), but it was his penultimate feature film, “The Word,” that won him his Golden Lion at the 1955 Venice Film Festival.
“Aparajito” is the second installment in Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy. The movie marked the first time a film from India took home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
![Grande Guerra, La / Great War, The (1959) | Pers: Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman | Dir: Mario Monicelli | Ref: GRA039AB | Photo Credit: [ De Laurentiis/Gray Films / The Kobal Collection ] | Editorial use only related to cinema, television and personalities. Not for cover use, advertising or fictional works without specific prior agreement](https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GRA039AB_601-1600x900-c-default.jpg?w=300)
Mario Monicelli’s “The Great War” tied Roberto Rossellini’s “General della Rovere” for the Golden Lion at the 1959 Venice Film Festival, giving Italy a historic double win. The movie went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Alain Resnais’ surrealist masterpiece “Last Year in Mariebad” was awarded the Golden Lion in 1961. The polarizing drama beat out Andrzej Wajda’s “Samson” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo,” among other titles.
Andrei Tarkovsky gave Russia its first Golden Lion when “Ivan’s Childhood” took home top honors at the 1962 Venice Film Festival. The movie tied with Valerio Zurlini’s “Family Diary.”
Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Red Desert” was one of five Italian movies to win the Golden Lion during the 1960s. The movie was also the last of four movies the director made with his muse Monica Vitti, following “L’Avventura” (1960), “La Notte” (1961), and “L’Eclisse” (1962).
Gillo Pontecorvo tapped into the Italian neorealism style to deliver a historical drama knockout with “The Battle of Algiers,” which was named the best film at the 1965 Venice Film Festival. Pontecorvo was later nominated for the Oscar for best director.
Luis Buñuel’s erotic drama “Belle De Jour” won top honors at Venice in 1967 and turned Catherine Deneuve into an international sex symbol. The controversial title follows a woman who spends her time as a high-class prostitute while her husband works.
John Cassavetes’ “Gloria,” starring Gena Rowlands in the title role, became the second movie from the U.S. to win the Golden Lion. No American film had won the top prize since Jean Renoir at the first Venice Film Festival.
Jean-Luc Godard won his first and only Golden Lion with “First Name: Carmen” in 1983. The drama is Godard’s interpretation of Bizet’s opera “Carmen.” The festival gave the director a Golden Lion Honorary Award in 1982.
Agnès Varda made history at the 1985 Venice Film Festival by becoming the first woman to win the Golden Lion. The French filmmaker won the prize with “Vagabond,” the story of a young woman (Sandrine Bonnaire) wandering around French wine country.
Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” tied Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Three Colors: Blue” for the Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice Film Festival. Altman’s comedy-drama features one of his most sprawling ensemble casts as it focuses on 22 character across Los Angeles.
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Three Colors: Blue” won the Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice Film Festival alongside Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts.” Kieślowski’s drama stars Juliette Binoche as a woman who struggles to isolate herself from others following the deaths of her husband and child.
The Venice Film Festival kicked off the new millenium by awarding Jafar Panahi the Golden Lion for his powerful drama “The Circle,” which follows the lives of oppressed women in Iran. The award was the first to be given to Iran.
Mira Nair became only the second woman in Venice Film Festival history to win the Golden Lion when “Monsoon Wedding” took home the top prize at the 2001 festival. IndieWire named the movie one of the best romances of the 21st century.
Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev became an international breakthrough after his debut feature film “The Return” won the Golden Lion at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. The director most recently won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2017 with “Loveless.”
Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake” is surprisingly only one of two solo United Kingdom movies to win the Golden Lion at Venice, the other being Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet” adaptation back in 1948. “Vera Drake” stars Imelda Staunton as a woman performing illegal abortions in 1950s London.
Ang Lee’s groundbreaking gay romance, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, won the 2005 Venice Film Festival. Lee would win again in 2007 with his erotic historical drama “Lust, Caution,” making hime one of only five directors to have multiple Golden Lion prizes.
Jia Zhangke’s drama “Still Life,” about two people searching for their missing spouses, won the Golden Lion at the 2006 Venice Film Festival. The movie was Zhangke’s second to compete at the festival after “Platform” in 2000.
Darren Aronofsky dazzled the 2008 Venice Film Festival with “The Wrestler,” which not only won the the Golden Lion but revitalized the career of Mickey Rourke. The actor went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his performance.
Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere,” starring Stephen Dorff as an actor spending his days at the Chateau Marmont and Elle Fanning as his young daughter, won the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. Coppola is one of only three women to win Venice’s biggest honor.
Roy Andersson brought Sweden its first Golden Lion in history when his black comedy “A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence” took home the top prize at the 2014 Venice Film Festival.
Guillermo del Toro was the big winner of the 2017 Venice Film Festival thanks to “The Shape of Water,” which became the first movie from Mexico to win the festival’s biggest prize. The fantasy drama went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.