The 66th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 2 to 12 September 2009, at Venice Lido in Italy.
Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to Lebanon by Samuel Maoz.
The festival opened with Baarìa by Giuseppe Tornatore, and the closed with Chengdu, I Love You by Fruit Chan and Cui Jian.
Juries
Main competition (Venezia 66)
- Ang Lee, Taiwanese filmmaker and producer - Jury President
- Sergei Bodrov, Russian filmmaker and producer
- Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress and filmmaker
- Liliana Cavani, Italian filmmaker
- Joe Dante, American director, producer, editor and actor
- Anurag Kashyap, Indian director, writer, producer and actor
- Luciano Ligabue, Italian director, writer and singer-songwriter
Opera Prima ("Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film)
Corto-Cortissimo (Short Film Competition)
- Stuart Gordon, American filmmaker, theater director and playwright - Jury President
- Steve Ricci, Italian cinematographer, screenwriter and editor
- Sitora Alieva, Russian artistic director of the International Film Festival Kinotav
Controcampo Italiano
- Carlo Lizzani, Italian director, screenwriter and critic - Jury President
- Giulio Questi, Italian director and screenwriter
- Marina Sanna, Italian chief editor of cinema magazine
Official Sections
In Competition
The following films were selected for the main competition:
Out of Competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
Corto Cortissimo (Short Film Competition)
The following films were selected for the Corto Cortissimo (Short film competition) section:
The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
As part of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2009, which was conferred to John Lasseter and the Directors of Disney-Pixar, the following American animation films were presented:
Cortocampo Italiano
The following films, representing "new trends in Italian cinema", were screened in this section:
Italian Retrospective: These Phantoms 2
For this retrospective section on Italian cinema, 39 feature and 26 short films were screened, including documentaries. The films were mainly from the period 1946 - 1971, with a few only films going back to the 1930s and reaching up to 2009.
Independent Sections
Venice International Film Critics' Week
The following films were selected for the 24th International Film Critics' Week:
Venice Days
The following films were selected for the 6th edition of Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori) autonomous section:
Official Awards
In competition (Venezia 66)
Horizons (Orizzonti)
Luigi De Laurentis Award for a Debut Film
Short Film Competition (Corto Cortissimo)
- Best Short Film: Firstborn by Etienne Kallos
- Venice Nomination to the European Film Awards 2009: Sinner by Meni Philip
- Special mention: Felicitàby Salomé Aleksi
Controcampo Italiano
- Best Feature Film: Cosmonaut by Susanna Nicchiarelli
- Special Mention: In the Eyes by Francesco Del Grosso, Daniele Anzellotti
Special awards
Independent Sections Awards
Venice International Film Critics' Week
- "Region of Veneto for quality cinema" Award: Tehroun by Takmil Homayoun Nader
- Future Film Festival Digital Award: Metropia by Tarik Saleh
- Special Mention: Up by Pete Docter
Independent Awards
The following collateral awards were conferred to films of the official selection:
Francesco Pasinetti Award (SNGCI)
Leoncino d'oro Agiscuola Award
La Navicella â Venezia Cinema Award
C.I.C.T. UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award
UNICEF Award
Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Special Award
Biografilm Lancia Award
Brian Prize by UAAR
Lanterna Magica Award (Cgs)
- Cosmonauta by Susanna Nicchiarelli
FEDIC Award
- The White Space by Francesca Comencini
- Special Mention: What Do You Know About Me by Valerio Jalongo
Arca Cinemagiovani Awards
Lina Mangiacapre Award
Air For Film Fest Award
- The White Space by Francesca Comencini
Open Award 2009
- Capitalism: A love story by Michael Moore
Gianni Astrei Award
- The White Space by Francesca Comencini
References
External links