72nd Venice International Film Festival

The 72nd annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 2 to 12 September 2015, at Venice Lido in Italy.

Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón was the jury president for the main competition. French-Italian actress Elisa Sednaoui hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to From Afar by Lorenzo Vigas.

The festival poster featured Nastassja Kinski in front as reminiscent of Wim Wenders's Faraway, So Close!, while in the background it featured the character of Antoine Doinel portrayed by Jean-Pierre Léaud from François Truffaut's 1959 drama film The 400 Blows, which also appeared on the 71st Venice International Film Festival poster.

The festival opened with Everest by Baltasar Kormákur, and closed with Mr. Six by Guan Hu.

Juries

Main competition (Venezia 72)

• Alfonso Cuarón, Mexican filmmaker - Jury President
• Elizabeth Banks, American actress and director
• Emmanuel Carrère, French author, screenwriter and director
• Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkish director
• Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwanese filmmaker
• Diane Kruger, German actress
• Francesco Munzi, Italian director
• Paweł Pawlikowski, Polish filmmaker
• Lynne Ramsay, Scottish filmmaker

Horizons (Orizzonti)

• Jonathan Demme, American director - Jury President
• Alix Delaporte, French director and screenwriter
• Fruit Chan, Hong Kong director
• Anita Caprioli, Italian actress
• Paz Vega, Spanish actress

Opera Prima (Venice Award for a Debut Film)

• Saverio Costanzo, Italian director - Jury President
• Charles Burnett, American director
• Roger Garcia, Hong Kong producer
• Natacha Laurent, French film critic and historian
• Daniela Michel, Mexican journalist

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:

Orizzonti

The following feature films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:

Venice Classics

The following selection of restored classic films and documentaries on cinema were screened for this section:

Biennale College - Cinema

The following films were screened for the "Biennale College - Cinema" section, a higher education training workshop for micro-budget feature films:

Final Cut in Venice

The following films were screened for the "Final Cut in Venice" section, a workshop to support the post-production of films from Africa:

Il Cinema nel Giardino

The following feature films were selected for the Il Cinema nel Giardino section:

Independent Sections

International Critics’ Week

The following films were selected for the 29th Venice International Film Critics' Week:

Venice Days

The following films were selected for the 12th edition of the Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) section:

Official Awards

In Competition (Venezia 72)

• Golden Lion: From Afar by Lorenzo Vigas
• Silver Lion for Best Director: Pablo Trapero for The Clan
• Grand Jury Prize: Anomalisa by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
• Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Fabrice Luchini for Courted
• Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Valeria Golino for Per amor vostro
• Marcello Mastroianni Award: Abraham Attah for Beasts of No Nation
• Best Screenplay: Christian Vincent for Courted
• Special Jury Prize: Frenzy by Emin Alper

Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement

• Bertrand Tavernier

Orizzonti

• Best Film: Free in Deed by Jake Mahaffy
• Best Director: Brady Corbet for The Childhood of a Leader
• Special Jury Prize: Neon Bull by Gabriel Mascaro
• Special Prize For Best Actor or Actress: Dominique Leborne for Tempête
• Horizons Prize for Best Short: Belladonna by Dubravka Turic

Luigi De Laurentis Award for a Debut Film

• The Childhood of a Leader by Brady Corbet

Venice Classics Awards

• Best Documentary on Cinema: The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin by Yves Montmayeur
• Best Restored Film: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom by Pier Paolo Pasolini

Special Awards

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award: Brian De Palma
• Persol Tribute To Visionary Talent Award: Jonathan Demme
• L'Oréal Paris per il Cinema Award: Valentina Corti

Independent Sections Awards

The following official and collateral awards were conferred to films of the autonomous sections:

30th Venice International Critics' Week

• Audience Award Pietro Barzisa: Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler

Venice Days

• Venice Days Award: Early Winter by Michael Rowe
• BNL People's Choice Award: As I Open My Eyes by Leyla Bouzid
• Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: As I Open My Eyes by Leyla Bouzid
• Laguna Sud Award
• Best Film: Lolo by Jullie Delpy
• Best Italian Discovery: Arianna by Carlo Lavagna

Francesco Pasinetti (SNGCI) Award - Special mentions

• First Light by Vincenzo Marra
• Vincenzo Marra (director) and Riccardo Scamarcio (leading actor) for First Light

Independent Awards

The following collateral awards were conferred to films of the official selection:

FIPRESCI Awards

• Best Film (Main competition): Blood of My Blood by Marco Bellocchio
• Best Film (Horizons): Wednesday, 9 May by Vahid Jalilvand
• Special mention: The Childhood of a Leader by Brady Corbet

SIGNIS Award

• Behemoth by Zhao Liang
• Special mention: The Wait by Piero Messina

Francesco Pasinetti (SNGCI) Award

• Best Film: Don't Be Bad by Claudio Caligari
• Best Actor: Luca Marinelli for Don't Be Bad
• Best Actress: Valeria Golino for For Your Love

Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award

• The Wait by Piero Messina

Brian Award

• Spotlight by Tom McCarthy

Queer Lion

• The Danish Girl by Tom Hooper
• Special mention: Baby Bump by Kuba Czekaj

Arca CinemaGiovani Award

• Best Film of Venezia 72: Frenzy by Emin Alper
• Best Italian Film: Burning Love by Albert Caviglia

FEDIC Award

• Don't Be Bad directed by Claudio Caligari
• Special mention: The Wait by Piero Messina

Fedeora Awards

• Best Film (Critics' Week): The Black Hen by Min Bahadur Bham
• Best Cinematography (Critics' Week): Bentley Dean for Tanna

• Best Film (Venice Days): Underground Fragrance by Pengfei
• Best Director of a Debut Film (Venice Days): Ruchika Oberoi for Island City
• Best Actress in a Debut Film (Venice Days): Ondina Quadri for Arianna

• Best Euro-Mediterranean film: Francofonia by Alexander Sokurov

Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award

• Alexander Sokurov for Francofonia
• Special Award: Johnny Depp and Terry Gilliam

2nd Starlight Cinema Awards

• Career Award: Lina Wertmuller
• International Award: Paz Vega
• Best Film: Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales
• Best breakthrough actress of the year: Silvia D’Amico
• Best breakthrough actor of the year: Giovanni Anzaldo
• Humanitarian Award: Myriam Catania
• Special Mention: Lucana Film Commission
• Best breakthrough production: Buena Onda by Riccardo Scamarcio
• Intercultural Award: Reynaldo Gianecchini

Green Drop Award

• Behemoth by Zhao Liang

Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Young Jury award

• Remember by Atom Egoyan
• Special mention: 11 Minutes by Jerzy Skolimowski

Gold Mouse

• Rabin, the Last Day by Amos Gitai
• Silver Mouse: Spotlight by Tom McCarthy

Future Film Festival Digital Award

• Anomalisa by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
• Special mention: Heart of a Dog by Laurie Anderson

P. Nazareno Taddei Award

• Marguèrite by Xavier Giannoli

Lanterna Magica (CGS) Award

• Blanka by Kohki Hasei

Open Award

• Carlotta Cerquetti for Harry’s Bar

Lina Mangiacapre Award

• Laurie Anderson for Heart of a Dog

Gillo Pontecorvo - Arcobaleno Latino Award

• Don't Be Bad by Claudio Caligari

INTERFILM Award

• Wednesday, 9 May by Vahid Jalilvand

"Civitas Vitae prossima" Award

• Alberto Caviglia for Pecore in erba

Soundtrack Stars Award

• A Bigger Splash by Luca Guadagnino
• Equals by Drake Doremus
• Award for Lifetime Achievement: Nicola Piovani

Schermi di Qualità – Carlo Mazzacurati Award

• Don't Be Bad by Claudio Caligari

Human Rights Nights Award

• Rabin, the Last Day by Amos Gitai

AssoMusica "Ho visto una Canzone" Award

• The song "A cuor leggero" by Riccardo Sinigallia, from the film Don't Be Bad

Sorriso diverso Venezia 2015 Award

• Best Italian film: Don't Be Bad by Claudio Caligari
• Best Film in a Foreign Language: Blanka by Kohki Hasei

Amnesty International Italia "Il cinema per i diritti umani" Award

• Visaranai by Vetrimaaran

CITC – UNESCO 2015 Award

• Beasts of No Nation by Cary Fukunaga

NuovoImaie Talent Award

• Best Actress in a Debut Film: Ondina Quadri for Arianna
• Best Italian actor in a Debut Film: Alessandro Borghi for Don't Be Bad

Best Innovative Budget Award

• A Bigger Splash by Luca Guadagnino

References

External links