Yesterday kicked off the official start of the 2024 Venice Film Festival. To celebrate the long contributions the festival has had on the film industry, we’re looking at the history of Italian Film! At the end of the post, you can the prior festival winners.
The Biennale di Venezia is the oldest art exhibition in the world. Mayor Riccardo Selvatico founded the organization to showcase the arts throughout Italy. Today the Biennale has international festivals for: Art, Contemporary Music, Theatre, Architecture, Contemporary Dance, Kid’s Carnival and Film. The Venice Film Festival (Mostro Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica) is one of the big 5 international film festivals and attracts filmmakers from all across the world.
The festival takes place on the Lido island in the Venice Lagoon at the historic Palazzo del cinema. Yearly, the festival awards prizes for the best film, director, actor and actress. these prizes are Golden Lion, Silver Lion and the Volpi Cup. The golden lion is a former symbol of the Republic of Venice and resembles the lion of Saint Mark. Film Festival founder, Giuseppe Volpi was a top member of the Fascist party. He worked for Party and Germany during World War II. After the war, Volpi spent the majority of his time in court.
Italian Cinema
In the 1910s, the film industry in Italy grew tremendously and by 1912 there were over 1,000 films made in northern Italy. Nino Martoglio’s 1914 film Lost in the Dark, is widely considered to be an experiment of neorealism. Towards the end of the 1910s, Italy created the earliest avant gardes films. these films influenced the German Expressionist films and even Alfred Hitchcock. The futurist mindset was to encourage Italy to break free of its past.
After the first world war, the film industry was rebuilding themselves. The Song of Love (1930) is the first talkie film. With the addition of talking pictures shaped Italian film into the golden age. The golden age of Italian film is between 1942 and 1978. However, the period before the golden age was filled with propaganda movies led by the fascist party.
Genres of Italian Film
Telefoni Bianchi – optimistic movies that are similar to Hollywood’s screwball comedies.
Calligrafismo – took on a more critical view of the subject to make it more realistic.
Neorealists – an important director in this movement is Federico Fellini.
Musicarellos – musicals that were geared toward the youth of the country.
Commedia all’ Italiana – comedy movies
Spaghetti Westerns – Italian filmmakers took advantage of the dying westerns in America with gritty, morally flawed characters. These films were made in Europe.
Brief History of the Film Festival:
1893 – Venice mayor Riccardo Selvatico created the Biennale organization as a celebration of the arts
1932 – The Film Festival begins and is held from August 6th to the 21st.
1935 – The Festival becomes annual
From the late 30s to the mid 40s due to the political turmoil in Europe, the festival did not give out prizes but showed popular pre-war films. 1943-1945 there was no festival because of the height of World War II.
1946 – Festival resumed & awarded The Southerner as the best film of the year
1957 – Satyajit Ray won the Golden Lion for his film, Aparajito. This was the first time western audiences got an appreciation for films from India
1960s-1979 – more turmoil in Italy and Europe caused more problems so the festival was canceled.
1979 – Resumes again into the festival as we know it today
1980 – The Film Fest is moved to the Lido
The Venice Film Festival is now thought of as an Oscar launch as more of the recent films have gotten on to get nominations for the Academy Award.
Best Italian Films of All Time
8 ½
The Conformist
Rome, Open City
The Leopard
Voyage to Italy
La Strada
La Vita Bella
Bird with the Crystal Plumage
City of the Living Dead
Django
La Dolce Vita
Marriage Italian Style
Le Quattro Volte
Best films from prior festivals
Golden Lion Winners
Poor Things – 2023
Nomadland – 2020
Joker – 19
Roma -18
The Shape of You -17
Academy Award Nominated Films that premeired at Venice
Argentia 1985
Banishees of Inisherin
Bones and All
Tar
The Whale
Saint Omer
The Whale – 2022
Parallel Mothers
Power of the Dog
The Lost Daughter
Spencer
Ferrari
The Killer
Io Capitano
Priscilla
Hitman
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