The 17th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 9 September 1956.
No Golden Lion was awarded, the international jury was unable to decide the winner, after a tie in the voting between The Burmese Harp and Calle Mayor, the award was declared void for the first (and only) time ever.
Jury John Grierson, British filmmaker - Jury President André Bazin, French film critic G.B. Cavallaro, Italian film critic Fridrikh Ermler, Soviet filmmaker and actor James Quinn, British producer and exhibitor Kiyohiko Ushihara, Japanese filmmaker Luchino Visconti, Italian filmmaker
Official Sections The following films were selected to be screened:
Main Competition English title Original title Director(s) Production country Attack Robert Aldrich United States The Awakening Suor Letizia Mario Camerini Italy Bigger Than Life Nicholas Ray United States The Burmese Harp ビルマの竪琴 Kon Ichikawa Japan Bus Stop Joshua Logan United States The Captain from Köpenick Der Hauptmann von Köpenick Helmut Käutner West Germany Empire in the Sun L'impero del sole Enrico Gras Italy Gervaise René Clément France The Immortal Garrison Бессмертный гарнизон Zakhar Agranenko, Eduard Tisse Soviet Union Main Street Calle Mayor Juan Antonio Bardem Spain The Ogre of Athens Ο Δράκος Nikos Koundouros Greece The Rocket from Calabuch Calabuch Luis García Berlanga Spain Street of Shame 赤線地帯 Kenji Mizoguchi Japan Torero! Carlos Velo Mexico La Traversée de Paris Claude Autant-Lara France
Out of Competition English title Original title Director(s) Production country Big and Small Veliki i mali Vladimir Pogačić Yugoslavia Bus Stop Joshua Logan United States
Official Awards
Main Competition Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Bourvil for La Traversée de Paris Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Maria Schell for Gervaise Special Mentions: Street of Shame by Kenji Mizoguchi Heinz Rühmann for The Captain from Köpenick Anna Magnani for The Awakening Franco Bernetti, Mario Craveri, Ubaldo Marelli, Giovanni Raffaldi for Empire in the Sun Torero! by Carlos Velo The Immortal Garrison by Zakhar Agranenko & Eduard Tisse Betsy Blair for Calle Mayor The Burmese Harp by Kon Ichikawa Calle Mayor by Juan Antonio Bardem
Independent Awards
New Cinema Award Best Film: Calle Mayor by Juan Antonio Bardem Best Actor: Heinz Rühmann for The Captain from Köpenick Best Actress: Maria Schell for Gervaise
San Giorgio Prize The Burmese Harp by Kon Ichikawa
FIPRESCI Prize Calle Mayor by Juan Antonio Bardem Gervaise by René Clément
OCIC Award Calabuch by Luis García Berlanga Honorable Mention: The Burmese Harp by Kon Ichikawa
Pasinetti Award Attack by Robert Aldrich
References
External links
Venice Film Festival 1956 Awards on IMDb