The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August and 10 September 2011, at Venice Lido in Italy.
American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actress Vittoria Puccini was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to Faust by Alexander Sokurov.
Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during the festival.
The festival opened with The Ides of March by George Clooney, and closed with Damsels in Distress by Whit Stillman.
Juries Main competition (Venezia 68) Darren Aronofsky, American filmmaker - Jury President Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Finnish visual artist and filmmaker David Byrne, British-American musician Todd Haynes, American filmmaker Mario Martone, Italian filmmaker Alba Rohrwacher, Italian actress André Téchiné, French filmmaker
Orizzonti Jia Zhangke, Chinese filmmaker - Jury President Stuart Comer, British Curator of Film at Tate Modern Odile Decq, French architect Marianne Khoury, Egyptian director Jacopo Quadri, Italian film editor
Controcampo Italiano Stefano Incerti, Italian author - Jury President Aureliano Amadei, Italian actor Cristiana Capotondi, Italian actress
Opera Prima (Venice Award for a Debut Film) Carlo Mazzacurati, Italian director - Jury President Aleksei Fedorchenko, Russian director Fred Roos, American producer Charles Tesson, French Artistic Director of the International Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival Serra Yilmaz, Turkish actress
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production country 4:44 Last Day on Earth Abel Ferrara United States, Switzerland, France Alps Άλπεις Yorgos Lanthimos Greece A Burning Hot Summer (That Summer) Un été brûlant Philippe Garrel France Carnage Roman Polanski France, Germany, Spain, Poland Chicken with Plums Poulet aux prunes Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud France, Belgium, Germany A Dangerous Method David Cronenberg Canada, Germany, United Kingdom Dark Horse Todd Solondz United States The Exchange ההתחלפות Eran Kolirin Israel, Germany FaustФауст Alexander Sokurov Russia Himizu ヒミズ Sion Sono Japan The Ides of March (opening film) George Clooney United States Killer Joe William Friedkin The Last Man on Earth L'Ultimo Terrestre Gipi Italy Life Without Principle 奪命金 Johnnie To Hong Kong People Mountain People Sea 人山人海 Cai Shangjun China Seediq Bale 賽德克·巴萊 Wei Te-sheng Taiwan Shame Steve McQueen United Kingdom A Simple Life 桃姐 Ann Hui Hong Kong Terraferma Emanuele Crialese Italy Texas Killing Fields Ami Canaan Mann United States Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tomas Alfredson United Kingdom, France When the Night Quando la notte Cristina Comencini Italy Wuthering Heights Andrea Arnold United Kingdom Out of Competition The following films were shown out of competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production country Almayer's Folly La Folie Almayer Chantal Akerman France, Belgium Alois Nebel Tomáš Luňák Czech Republic, Germany The Cardboard Village Il Villaggio di Cartone Ermanno Olmi Italy Contagion Steven Soderbergh United StatesDamsels in Distress (closing film)Whit Stillman The Disintegration La Désintégration Philippe Faucon France, Belgium Eva Kike Maillo Spain, France The Field of Enchantment La clé des champs Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou France Long Live the Antipodes! Vivan las Antipodas! Viktor Kossakovsky Germany, Argentina, Netherlands, Chile, Russia The Moth Diaries Mary Harron Canada, Ireland Scossa Francesco Maselli, Carlo Lizzani, Ugo Gregoretti, Nino Russo Italy The Sorcerer and the White Snake 白蛇傳說之法海 Ching Siu-tung China, Hong Kong Summer Games Giochi d'estate Rolando Colla Switzerland, Italy Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad, and the Politician تحرير 2011 : الطيب والشرس والسياسي Tamer Ezzat, Ahmad Abdalla, Ayten Amin, Amr Salama Egypt Tormented ラビット・ホラー3D Takashi Shimizu Japan W.E. Madonna United Kingdom Wilde Salomé Al Pacino United StatesShort filmsThe EndCollectif AbounaddaraSyriaVanguardEvolution (Megaplex)Marco BrambillaUnited StatesMarco Bellocchio, Venezia 2011Pietro MarcelloItalyLa meditazione di HayezMario MartoneJouleDavid Zamagni, Nadia RanocchiSpell. The Hypnotist DogSpell. SuiteSpecial EventsDiana Vreeland: The Eye Has to TravelLisa Immordino VreelandUnited StatesDon't Expect too MuchSusan RayDuvidhaMani KaulIndiaIn the Name of the FatherNel nome del padreMarco BellocchioItalyIndia: Matri BhumiRoberto RosselliniMildred PierceTodd HaynesUnited StatesQuesta storia quaAlessandro Paris, Sibylle RighettiItalyWe Can't Go Home Again (1973)Nicholas RayUnited States
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Main Competition Alms of the Blind Horse Anhe Ghore Da Daan Gurvinder Singh India The Bird L'Oiseau Yves Caumon France Cut Amir Naderi Japan The Flock of the Lord Die Herde des Herrn Romuald Karmakar Germany Hail Amiel Courtin-Wilson Australia Hollywood Talkies Óscar Pérez, Mia de Ribot Spain Hop-o'-My-Thumb Le petit poucet Marina de Van France The Invader L'envahisseur Nicolas Provost Belgium Kotoko Shinya Tsukamoto Japan Love Flesh Amore Carne Pippo Delbono Italy, Switzerland Lung Neaw Visits His Neighbours Rirkrit Tiravanija Thailand, MexicoNocturnosEdgardo CozarinskyArgentina The Orator O le tulafale Tusi Tamasese New Zealand, Samoa P-047 Tae peang phu deaw Kongdej Jaturanrasmee Thailand Photographic Memory Ross McElwee United States, France Sal James Franco United States Shock Head Soul Simon Pummel Netherlands, United Kingdom Stateless Things Jool-tak-dong-si Kim Kyung-mook South Korea Summer Verano José Luis Torres Leiva Chile Swan Cisne Teresa Villaverde Portugal Swirl Girimunho Helvécio Marins, Jr., Clarissa Campolina Brazil, Spain, Germany The Sword Identity Wokou de zongji Xu Haofeng China Two Years at Sea Ben Rivers United Kingdom Whores' Glory Michael Glawogger Austria, Germany Would You Have Sex with an Arab? Yolande Zauberman FranceShort Films Competition663114Isamu HirabayashiJapanAccidentes gloriososMauro Andrizzi, Marcus LindeenSweden, Denmark, ArgentinaAll the Lines Flow OutCharles Lim Yi YongSingaporeBlack Mirror at the National GalleryMark LewisCanadaConference: Notes on Film 05Norbert PfaffenbichlerAustriaDialogical AbrasionDialogischer AbriebYves NetzhammerSwitzerlandThe Golden BirdSonchidiAmit DuttaIndiaHypercrisisJosef DabernigAustriaIn attesa dell'avventoFelice D'Agostino, Arturo LavoratoItalyFrom TokyoIz TokioAleksej German, Jr.RussiaLate and DeepDevin HoranNorwayLouyre – This Our Still LifeAndrew KöttingUnited KingdomMeteorChristoph Girardet, Matthias MüllerGermanyMiss Candace Hilligoss' Flickering HaloFabio Scacchioloi, Vincenzo CoreItalyModern N° 2Mirai MizueJapanMovements of an Impossible TimeMovimenti di un tempo impossibleFlatformItalyMoving StoriesNicolas ProvostBelgiumNotes sur nos voyages en Russie 1989–1990Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci-LucchiItalyPalaces of PityPalácios de penaGabriel Abrantes, Daniel SchmidtPortugalParabeton – Pier Luigi Nervi und Römischer BetonHeinz EmigholzGermanyPassing Through the NightWattanapume LaisuwanchaiThailandPiattaforma LunaYuri AncaraniItalyRiver RitesBen RussellUnited StatesSnow CanonMati DiopFranceStartMattias GustafssonSwedenThe Sun's IncubatorHadinat al shamsAmmar Al-BeikSyriaThe Tracks of My Tears 2Axel PetersénSwedenSpecial EventsThe AnnunciationMarian IlmestysEija-Liisa AhtilaFinlandBirmingham OrnamentBirmingemskiy ornamentAndrey Silvestrov, Yuri LeidermanRussiaCentury of BirthingSiglo ng pagluluwalLav DiazPhilippinesMonkey SandwichWim VandekeybusBelgium, FranceThe Silence of PelesjanIl silenzio di PelesjanPietro MarcelloItaly
Controcampo Italiano The following films, representing "new trends in Italian cinema", were screened in this section:
In competition English TitleOriginal title Director(s) Fiction Easy! Scialla! Francesco Bruni Maternity Blues Fabrizio Cattani Qualche nuvola Saverio Di Biagio The Arrival of Wang L'arrivo di Wang Manetti Bros. Things from Another WorldCose dell'altro mondo Francesco Patierno Horses Cavalli Michele Rho Tutta colpa della musica Ricky TognazziFeature documentariesBlack BlockCarlo Augusto BachschmidtPiazza GaribaldiDavide FerrarioPugni chiusiFiorella InfascelliOut of TehranMonica MaggioniPasta neraAlessandro PivaQuiproquoElisabetta SgarbiShort filmsIl maestroMaria Grazia CucinottaA chjànaJonas CarpignanoAliceRoberto De PaolisThe CricketStefano LorenziEco da luogo colpitoCarlo Michele ScririnziProve per un naufragio della parolaElisabetta SgarbiMy Name is SidGiovanni VirgilioOut of CompetitionIo Sono. Storie di SchiavitùBarbara CupistiCaldo grigio, caldo neroMarco DenticiRudolf Jacobs, l'uomo che nacque morendoLuigi M. FacciniAndata e ritornoDonatella FinocchiaroDai nostri inviati – La RAI racconta la Mostra del cinema 1968 – 1979Giuseppe Gianotti, Enrico Salvatori, Davide SavelliPivano Blues. Sulla strada di NandaTeresa MarchesiSchuberth – L'atelier della dolce vitaAntonello SarnoHollywood InvasionMarco SpagnoliUn foglio biancoMaurizio Zaccaro
Italian avant-garde retrospective The following films were shown as part of a retrospective section on Italian avant-garde films, titled Orizzonti 1961-1978, spanning the years 1961 to 1978.
English title Original title Director(s)Anna (1975) Alberto Grifi Il potere (1972) Augusto Tretti On the Point of Death (1971) In punto di morete Mario GarribaI parenti tutti (1967) Fabio Garriba Voce del verbo morire Mario Garriba Sul davanti fioriva una magnolia (1968) Paolo Breccia La quieta febbre (1964) Romano ScavoliniDiario beat (1967)Attacco (1970)LSD (1970)Reflex (1964) Mario SchifanoFerreri (1967)Souvenir (1967)Film (1967)Fotografo (1967)Vietnam (1967)Vieni dolce morte (dell'ego) (1969) Paolo Brunatto Bis (1966)Hermitage (1967) Carmelo Bene Il canto d'amore di Alfred Prufrock (1967) Nico D'Alessandria Il respiro (1964) Alex Rupp The City (1961)Zoommm, Track! (1968) Mario Carbone Kappa (1965-1966) Nato Frascà Soglie (1978)Events of the RetrospectiveIl vetturale del San Gottardo (1941) Hans Hinrich and Ivo Illuminati L'Accademia Musicale Chigiana (1950) Franco Zeffirelli
Independent Sections Venice International Film Critics' Week The following films were screened for this section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition In The Open El Campo Hernán Belón Argentina Land of Oblivion La Terre outragée Michale Boganim France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine Là-bas: A Criminal Education Là-bas: Educazione criminale Guido Lombardi Italy Louise Wimmer Cyril Mennegun France Machete Language El Lenguaje de los Machetes Kyzza Terrazas Mexico Jessica Krummacher Germany Wetlands Marécages Guy Édoin CanadaOut of CompetitionMission Of PeaceMissione di paceFrancesco LagiItalyStockholm EastStockholm ÖstraSimon Kaijser da SilvaSwedenSpecial Event in collaboration with Venice DaysYou Are HereVoi Siete QuiFrancesco MateraItaly
Venice Days The following films were screened as part of the Venice Days section The three nominees for the European Parliament's 2011 Lux Prize received screenings as part of this section.