The 64th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 29 August to 8 September 2007, at Venice Lido in Italy.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actress Ambra Angiolini was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to Lust, Caution by Ang Lee, marking his second win after Brokeback Mountain (2005).
American filmmaker Tim Burton received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during the festival.
Once again all the films running the contest were shown for the first time as world premieres in keeping with the festival tradition since the Second World War.
The festival opened with Atonement by Joe Wright, and the closed with Blood Brothers by Alexi Tan.
Juries Main Competition (Venezia 64) Zhang Yimou, Chinese filmmaker, producer and actor - Jury President Catherine Breillat, French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema Jane Campion, New Zealand filmmaker and producer Emanuele Crialese, Italian filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican filmmaker and producer Ferzan Özpetek, Turkish-Italian filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, Dutch filmmaker and producer
Horizons (Orizzonti) Gregg Araki, American filmmaker - Jury President Giorgia Fiorio, Italian photographer Ulrich Gregor, German critic Frederick Wiseman, American filmmaker and theatre director Hala Alabdalla Yakoub, Syrian director and producer
Opera Prima ("Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film) Bill Mechanic, American film producer - Jury President Randa Chahal, Lebanese filmmaker and producer Rupert Everett, English actor and writer Liu Jie, Chinese director Valeria Solarino, Italian actress
Short Films Competition (Corto Cortissimo) , French director- Jury President Yasmine Kassari, Moroccan director Roberto Perpignani, Italian film editor
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production country 12 Nikita Mihalkov Russia The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Andrew Dominik United States Atonement (opening film) Joe Wright United Kingdom Chaos, This Is هي فوضى Youssef Chahine Egypt The Darjeeling Limited Wes Anderson United States Fallen Heroes Nessuna qualità agli eroi Paolo Franchi Italy, Switzerland, France Help Me Eros 幫幫我，愛神 Lee Kang-sheng Taiwan I'm Not There Todd Haynes United States In the City of Sylvia En la ciudad de Sylvia José Luis Guerín Spain In the Valley of Elah Paul Haggis United States It's a Free World... Ken Loach United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland Lust, Caution 色，戒 Ang Lee United States, China, Taiwan Mad Detective 神探 Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai Hong Kong Michael Clayton Tony Gilroy United States Nightwatching Peter Greenaway United Kingdom, Poland, Canada, Netherlands Redacted Brian De Palma United States The Romance of Astrea and Celadon Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon Éric Rohmer France, Italy, Spain The Secret of the Grain La graine et le mulet Abdellatif Kechiche France Sleuth Kenneth Branagh United Kingdom, United States Sukiyaki Western Django スキヤキ・ウエスタン ジャンゴ Takashi Miike Japan The Sun Also Rises 太阳照常升起 Jiang Wen China The Sweet and the Bitter Il dolce e l'amaro Andrea Porporati Italy The Trial Begins L'ora di punta Vincenzo Marra
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Venezia Maestri Beyond the Years 천년학 Im Kwon Taek South KoreaBlood Brothers (closing film)天堂口Alexi TanChina, Taiwan, Hong Kong Cassandra's Dream Woody Allen United Kingdom, United States Christopher Columbus – The Enigma Cristovão Colombo – O enigma Manoel de Oliveira Portugal, France Cleopatra Cleópatra Júlio Bressane Brazil Disengagement Désengagement Amos Gitai Germany, Italy, Israel, FranceA Fistfull of Dollars (1964)Per un pugno di dollariSergio LeoneItaly, Spain, Germany A Girl Cut in Two La Fille coupée en deux Claude Chabrol France Glory to the Filmmaker! 監督·ばんざい! Takeshi Kitano JapanRECPaco Plaza, Jaume BalagueróSpainVenezia Notte (Midnight)Far NorthAsif KapadiaUnited Kingdom, FranceBlade Runner: The Final CutRidley ScottUnited StatesThe Hunting PartyRichard ShepardUnited States, Croatia, Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Nanny DiariesShari Springer Berman, Robert PulciniUnited StatesNocturnaAdrià Garcìa, Víctor MaldonadoSpain, France
Special Events and Homages Occasion / Director English TitleOriginal title Production country Special Event: Wes Anderson Hotel Chevalier (short) United States 75th Anniversary Golden Lion: Bernardo Bertolucci La via del petrolio (1967) ItalyThe Spider's Stratagem (1970)Strategia del ragno Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Tim Burton The Nightmare Before Christmas United States Special Events of the 75th Anniversary: Alexander Kluge Mein Jahrhundert, mein Tier! GermanyDas Phänomen der OperFacts and FakesIm Sturm der ZeitDie poetische Kraft der TheorieDer Zauber der verdunkelten Seele Venezia Giubileo (1932–2007): Homage to Carlo Lizzani Hotel Meina Italy Venezia Giubileo (1932–2007): Mario Camerini What Scoundrels Men Are! (1932) Gli uomini che mascalzoni...
Orizzonti The following films were selected to the Orizzonti main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Fiction Autumn Ball Sügisball Veiko Õunpuu Estonia Cochochi Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán Mexico, United Kingdom, Canada Death in the Land of Encantos Lav Diaz Philippines Exodus Penny Woolcock United Kingdom Misbegotten Mal Nascida João Canijo Portugal Medea Miracle Médée Miracle Tonino De Bernardi Italy, France The Obscure 小说 Lü Yue China Crossing the Line Il passaggio della linea Pietro Marcello Italy Sad Vacation サッド ヴァケイション Shinji Aoyama Japan Searchers 2.0 Alex Cox United States The Silence Before Bach Die stille vor Bach Pere Portabella Spain The Story of Richard O L'Histoire de Richard O. Damien Odoul France With a Girl of Black Soil Geomen tangyi sonyeo oi Soo-il Jeon South Korea, FranceDocumentariesAnabazysJoel Pizzini, Paloma RochaBrazilThe BelovedL'AimèeArnaud DesplechinFranceDrifterAndarilhoCao GuimarãesBrazilDustStaubHartmut BitomskyGermanyLou Reed's BerlinJulian SchnabelUnited Kingdom, United StatesMan from PlainsJonathan DemmeUnited StatesMothersMadriBarbara CupistiItalyUmbrella伞Du HaibinChinaUseless无用Jia ZhangkeChinaHorizons EventsCallas assolutaPhilippe KohlyFrance, GreeceCarlo Goldoni VenezianLeonardo Autera, Alberto CaldanaItalyDall’altra parte della lunaDario Baldi, Davide MarengoEmpire IIAmos PoeUnited States
Short Films Competition (Corto Cortissimo) The following films in 35mm, whose length does not exceed 30 minutes, were selected for the short film competition (Corto Cortissimo): English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition Lightborne Alumbramiento Eduardo Chapero-Jackson Spain Dog Altogether Paddy Considine United Kingdom Fritt Fall Caroline Cowan Sweden Friends Forever Marçal Forés United KingdomDans la peauZoltán HorváthSwitzerland, France Fish Mul-Go-Gi Juhn Jai-hong South Korea, United States What Do I Know Sta ja znam Sejla Kameric, Timur Makarevic Bosnia, Slovenia Crossbow David Michôd Australia With a Little Patience Türelem László Nemes Hungary Adil e Yusuf Claudio Noce Italy Dragonflies Wazki Justyna Nowak Poland Tony Zoreil Valentin Potier France Stone People Leonid Rybakov Russia Blind Man's Eye Matthew Talbot-Kelly IrelandSkyggen af TvivlEsben TønnesenDenmark Coffee and Allah Sima Urale New Zealand Cargo Leo Woodhead Czech Republic, New Zealand Guodao 国道 Zhang Yue China
Retrospective - Secret History of Italian Cinema 4 Special mono-graphic sessions dedicated to the secret story of Italian cinema. This is the fourth part of the retrospective, initiated at the 61st edition of the festival; the patron of this edition, focused on Italian Spaghetti Western, was the director Quentin Tarantino.
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Seven from Texas (1964) Antes llega la muerte Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent Spain, Italy $100,000 for Ringo (1965) 100.000 dollari per Ringo Alberto De Martino Italy, Spain The Return of Ringo (1965) Il ritorno di Ringo Duccio Tessari Savage Gringo (1966) Ringo del Nebraska Antonio Román, Mario Bava Spain, Italy Blood for a Silver Dollar (1965) Un dollaro bucato Giorgio Ferroni Italy, France Django (1966) Sergio Corbucci Italy, Spain The Ugly Ones (1966) El precio de un hombre Eugenio Martín Spain, Italy The Big Gundown (1966) La resa dei conti Sergio Sollima Italy, Spain Navajo Joe (1966) Sergio Corbucci Sugar Colt (1966) Franco Giraldi The Hills Run Red (1966) Un fiume di dollari Carlo Lizzani Yankee (1967) Tinto Brass Ten Thousand Dollars for a Massacre (1967) 10.000 dollari per un massacro Romolo Guerrieri Italy The Dirty Outlaws (1967) El Desperado Franco Rossetti Italy, Spain Last of the Badmen (1967) Il tempo degli avvoltoi Nando Cicero Italy Death at Owell Rock (1967) La morte non conta i dollari Riccardo Freda Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967) Se sei vivo spara Giulio Questi Italy, Spain The Ruthless Four (1969) Ognuno per sé Giorgio Capitani Italy, West Germany Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968) Preparati la bara! Ferdinando Baldi Italy Tepepa (1968) Giulio Petroni Italy, Spain A Noose for Django (1969) Una lunga fila di croci Sergio Garrone Italy The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine (1969) La taglia è tua... l'uomo l'ammazzo io Edoardo Mulargia Italy, Spain They Call Me Trinity (1970) Lo chiamavano Trinità Enzo Barboni Italy Matalo! (1970) Cesare Canevari Italy, Spain Compañeros (1970) Vamos a matar compañeros Sergio Corbucci Italy, Spain, West Germany Vengeance Is a Dish Served Cold (1971) La vendetta è un piatto che si serve freddo Pasquale Squitieri Italy The Grand Duel (1972) Il grande duello Giancarlo Santi Italy, West Germany, France The Fighting Fist of Shanghai Joe (1973) Il mio nome è Shangai Joe Mario Caiano Italy A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972) Una ragione per vivere e una per morire Tonino Valerii Italy, Spain, France, West Germany Four of the Apocalypse (1975) I quattro dell'apocalisse Lucio Fulci Italy Keoma (1976) Enzo G. Castellari Retrospective eventsUna Questione poco privata – Conversazione con Giulio Questi (2007)Gianfranco PannoneItalyThe Fort of Death (1969)五人の賞金稼ぎEiichi KudoJapan
New Versions Restored As a pre-opening event of this future section, the restored Digital Cinema version of David Wark Griffith’s Intolerance (1916) was screened as a world premiere, in collaboration with the Le Giornate del Cinema Muto di Pordenone. "Venice Classics" which features restored classic films and documentaries on cinema, started as a new section in 2012, at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.
Independents Sections Venice International Film Critics' Week The following feature films were selected to be screened as In Competition for the 22nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition 24 Bars 24 measures Jalil Lespert France The Girl by the Lake La ragazza del lago Andrea Molaioli Italy Karoy Zhanna Issabaeva Kazakhstan The Most Distant Course 最遙遠的距離 Lin Jing-jie Taiwan The Nines John August United States Small Gods Dimitri Karakatsanis Belgium Soaring Otryv Aleksandr Mindadze RussiaHomage to Ousmane SembeneBlack GirlLa noire de...Ousmane SembeneSenegalThe WagonerBorom SarretSpecial EventYear of the NailAño UñaJonás CuarónUnited States
Venice Days The following films were selected for the 4th edition of Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori) autonomous section: