The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 27 August 2008 to 6 September 2008, at Venice Lido in Italy. The festival was dedicated to the late Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine."PREVIEW: Venice seeks to consolidate role as Oscars springboard" Europe News, By Peter Mayer, Aug 21, 2008
German filmmaker Wim Wenders was the jury president for the main competition. Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky.
Italian filmmaker Ermanno Olmi received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during the festival.
A restored version of Federico Fellini's 1952 comedy The White Sheik, with forty minutes of newly discovered footage. The record for the longest film at the festival was broken by Lav Diaz's Melancholia, with a running time of approximately seven and a half hours, which was included in the Orizzonti competition section.
The festival opened with Burn After Reading by Joel and Ethan Coen."Venice seeks role as Oscars springboard", Ninemsn, Australia - Aug 23, 2008
Juries Main Competition (Venezia 65) Wim Wenders, German filmmaker, playwright, author and photographer - Jury President Yuri Arabov, Russian screenwriter, writer, poet and educator Valeria Golino, Italian actress and director Douglas Gordon, Scottish artist John Landis, American filmmaker, actor and producer Lucrecia Martel, Argentine filmmaker, and producer Johnnie To, Hong Kong director and producer
Orizzonti Chantal Akerman, Belgian filmmaker, artist and professor of film - Jury President Nicole Brenez, French historian, theoretician and professor of cinema Barbara Cupisti, Italian documentary director and actress José Luis Guerín, Spanish filmmaker and educator Veiko Õunpuu, Estonian filmmaker
Opera Prima ("Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film) Abdellatif Kechiche, Tunisian-French actor, and filmmaker - Jury President Alice Braga, Brazilian actress Gregory Jacobs, American director, producer and screenwriter Donald Ranvaud, British producer and film journalist Heidrun Schleef, Italian screenwriter and producer
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production country Achilles and the Tortoise アキレスと亀 Takeshi Kitano Japan Birdwatchers La terra degli uomini rossi Marco Bechis Italy The Burning Plain Guillermo Arriaga United States Gabbla Tariq Teguia Algeria, France Giovanna's Father Il papà di Giovanna Pupi Avati Italy The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow United States Inju: The Beast in the Shadow Inju, la bête dans l'ombre Barbet Schroeder France Jerichow Christian Petzold Germany Milk Süt Semih Kaplanoglu Turkey, France, Germany The Other One L’Autre Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic France Paper Soldier Бумажный солдат Aleksei German Russia A Perfect Day Un giorno perfetto Ferzan Özpetek Italy Plastic City 荡寇 Yu Lik-wai Brazil, China, China（Hong Kong）, Japan Ponyo 崖の上のポニョ Hayao Miyazaki Japan Rachel Getting Married Jonathan Demme United States The Seed of Discord Il seme della discordia Pappi Corsicato Italy The Sky Crawlers スカイ·クロラ Mamoru Oshii Japan Teza ጤዛ Haile Gerima Ethiopia, Germany, France This Night Nuit de Chien Werner Schroeter France, Germany, Portugal Vegas: Based on a True Story Amir Naderi United States The Wrestler Darren Aronofsky United States, France Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Feature films 35 Shots of Rum 35 Rhums Claire Denis France, Germany The Beaches of Agnès Les Plages d'Agnes Agnès Varda France Burn After Reading (opening film) Joel and Ethan Coen United States Embodiment of Evil Encarnação do Demônio Jose Mojica Marins Brazil Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit ギララの逆襲／洞爺湖サミット危機一発 Minoru Kawasaki Japan Puccini and the Girl Puccini e la fanciulla Paolo Benvenuti Italy Queens of Langkasuka ปืนใหญ่จอมสลัด Nonzee Nimibutr Thailand Shirin شیرین Abbas Kiarostami Iran Vinyan Fabrice Du Welz France, United Kingdom, BelgiumShort filmsDo Visível ao InvisívelManoel de OliveiraBrazil, PortugalCry Me a River河上的爱情Jia ZhangkeChina, Spain, FranceVicino al Colosseo c’è MontiMario MonicelliItalySpecial EventYuppi duAdriano CelentanoItalyEventsBajo el signo de las sombras (1984)Ferrán AlberichSpainBicycle Thieves (1948)Ladri di bicicletteVittorio De SicaItalyCairo Station (1958)باب الحديدYoussef ChahineEgypt, FranceLife in Shadows (1947)Vida en SombrasLorenzo Llbobet GraciaSpainOrfeus 9 (1975)Orfeo 9Tito Schipa Jr.ItalyLa rabbia di Pasolini (2008)Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giuseppe BertolucciItalyTakadanobaba Duel (1937)Kettô TakadanobabaMasahiro Makino, Hiroshi InagakiJapanTutto è musica (1963)Domenico ModugnoItalyNel blu dipinto di blu - Volare (1959)Piero Tellini
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition The First Day of Winter Il primo giorno d’inverno Mirko Locatelli Italy Goodbye Solo Ramin Bahrani United States The Herb of the Rat A Erva do Rato Julio Bressane Brazil I'm Gonna Explode Voy a explotar Gerardo Naranjo Mexico Jay Francis Xavier Pasion PhilippinesUn lacPhilippe GrandrieuxFrance Melancholia Lav Diaz Philippines Pa-ra-da Marco Pontecorvo Italy, France, Romania Parc Arnaud des Pallières France Perfect Life 完美生活 Emily Tang China, China（Hong Kong） Khastegiخستگی Bahman Motamedian Iran Wild Field Дикое поле Mikheil Kalatozishvili Russia Zero Bridge Tariq Tapa India, United StatesDocumentariesBelow Sea LevelGianfranco RosiItaly, United StatesL'Exil et le royaumeAndreο Schtakleff, Jonathan Le FournFranceLos HerederosEugenio PolgovskyMexicoIn ParaguayRoss McElweeUnited StatesPuisque nous sommes nésJean-Pierre Duret, Andréa SantanaFrance, BrazilWomenHuang WenhaiChina, SwitzerlandZ32Avi MograbiIsrael, FranceHorizons EventsAntonioni su AntonioniCarlo Di CarloItalyLa fabbrica dei tedeschiMimmo CaloprestiSoltanto un nome nei titoli di testaDaniele Di BiasioThyssenKrupp BluesPietro Balla, Monica RepettoValentino: The Last EmperorMatt TyrnauerUnited StatesVenezia '68Antonello Sarno, Steve Della CasaItalyVerso EstLaura AngiulliItaly, Bosnia Short Film Competition (Corto Cortissimo) The following films were selected for the Short film competition (Corto Cortissimo) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition 1937 Giacomo Gatti, Francesco Carrozzini United States, Italy, France The Altruists De onbaatzuchtigen Koen Dejaegher Belgium Ashes Engagement Noces de cendre Pierre Eden Simon Belgium The Butcher’s Shop Philip Haas United States Corpus/Corpus Christophe Loizillon France The Dinner Vacsora Karchi Perlmann Hungary Every Breath You Take Vdih (working title) Igor Sterk Slovenia I Don't Dream in German Ich träume nicht auf Deutsch Ivana Lalovic Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina I’m in Away from Here Catriona MacInnes United Kingdom Land and Bread Tierra y Pan Carlos Armella Mexico Lies Lögner Jonas Odell Sweden Mine 我的 Liu Hui China Sand Zand Joost Van Ginkel Netherlands The Second Coming Teine tulemine Tanel Toom Estonia The Stars Don't Twinkle in Outer Space Peter Thwaites United Kingdom Ten Dix Bif France, United Kingdom We Who Stayed Behind Vi der blev tilbage Martin de Thurah Denmark When I’m 20 Khi toi 20 Dang Di Phan VietnamOut of competitionEve (Opening film)Natalie PortmanUnited StatesJarred (Closing film)Martin GaissAlbaGiorgia FarinaItalyIl colore della BassaGiuseppe MorandiUn canto lontanoAlberto MomoManagua BoxingFrediana Fornari These Phantoms: Italian Cinema Rediscovered (1946-1975) Retrospective screenings and restorations. Special mono-graphic sessions dedicated to the "secret story of Italian cinema". This is the fifth part of the retrospective, initiated at the 61st edition of the festival.
English title Original title Director(s) Fiction Agostino (1962) Mauro Bolognini Arcana (1972) Giulio Questi La bella di Lodi (1963)Mario Missiroli City of Pain (1949) La città dolente Mario Bonnard The City Stands Trial (1952) Processo alla città Luigi Zampa Difficult Years (1948) Anni difficili Luigi Zampa The Doll That Took the Town (1956) La donna del giorno Francesco Maselli The Earth Cries Out (1949) Il grido della terra Duilio Coletti Fire! (1968) Fuoco! Gian Vittorio Baldi Flashback (1969) Raffaele Andreassi A Girl... and a Million (1962) La cuccagna Luciano Salce Leoni al sole (1961)Vittorio Caprioli Letter at Dawn (1948) Una lettera all’alba Giorgio Bianchi The Lizards (1963) I basilischi Lina Wertmüller A New World (1964) Un monde nouveau Vittorio De Sica Oh, Grandmother's Dead (1969) Toh è Morta la Nonna Mario Monicelli Opiate '67 (1963) I Mostri Dino Risi Our Lady of the Turks (1968) Nostra Signora dei Turchi Carmelo Bene Paris, My Love (1962) Parigi o cara Vittorio Caprioli Pelle Viva Giuseppe Fina Revenge (1946) Un uomo ritorna Max Neufeld The Sky Is Red (1950) Il cielo è rosso Claudio Gora Smog (1963) Franco Rossi Violent Life (1962) Una vita violenta Paolo Heusch, Brunello Rondi The White Sheik (1952) Lo Sceicco Bianco Federico Fellini Documentaries and shortsE il Casanova di Fellini? (1975)Gianfranco Angelucci, Liliana BettiItalia proibita (1963)Enzo BiagiLa Forza e la Ragione (1971)Roberto RosselliniMysteries of Rome (1963)I misteri di Roma(collective film)Provini per "Il padre selvaggio" (1962)Pier Paolo PasoliniSpot Banca di Roma (1992)Federico Fellini
Independent sections Venice International Film Critics' Week The following films were selected for the 23rd International Film Critics' Week:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition The Apprentice L'apprenti Samuel Collardey France Cucumber Huanggua / Qing gua Zhou Yaowu China Kabuli Kid Barmak Akram France, Afghanistan Mid-August Lunch Pranzo di ferragosto Gianni Di Gregorio Italy Nightguards Čuvari noći Namik Kabil Bosnia and Herzegovina Sell Out! Yeo Joonhan Malaysia Two Lines Iki Çizgi Selim Evci TurkeyOut of competitionCold Lunch (Opening film)LønsjEva SørhaugNorwayPinuccio Lovero - Sogno di una morte di mezza estate (opening film)Pippo MezzapesaItaly Venice Days The following films were selected for the 5th edition of Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori) autonomous section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition One Day in a Life Un altro pianeta Stefano Tummolini Italy Broken Lines Sallie Aprahamian United Kingdom Machan Uberto Pasolini Sri Lanka, Italy, Germany The Visitor Muukalainen Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää Finland Nowhere Man (N)iemand Patrice Toye Belgium Hooked Pescuit sportiv Adrian Sitaru Romania Landscape No. 2 Pokrajina št. 2 Vinko Möderndorfer Slovenia Scratch Rysa Michał Rosa Poland A Week Alone Una semana solos Celina Murga Argentina Stella Sylvie Verheyde France The Country Teacher Venkovský učitel Bohdan Sláma Czech RepublicPortraits (documentaries)Che saccioCamille d'ArcimolesItalyIl passato è il mio bastoneFlavia Mastrella, Antonio RezzaVilla degli Autori – Open SpaceAdius Piero Ciampi e altre storieEzio AlovisiItalyEmilia Galotti: dal Settecento ad oggiAlessandro BerdiniLo stato d’eccezioneGermano MaccioniUn paese diversoSilvio Soldini, Giorgio Garini
Official Awards In Competition (Venezia 65) Golden Lion: The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky Silver Lion for Best Director: Aleksei Alekseivich German for Paper Soldier Special Jury Prize: Teza by Haile Gerima Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Silvio Orlando for Giovanna's Father Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Dominique Blanc for The Other One Marcello Mastroianni Award: Jennifer Lawrence for Burning Plain Golden Osella for Best Cinematography: Alisher Khamidhodjaev and Maxim Drozdov for Paper Soldier Golden Osella for Best Screenplay: Haile Gerima for Teza Special Lion: Werner Schroeter
Horizons (Orizzonti) Best Film: Melancholia by Lav Diaz