The Lion of the Future, also known as Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film, is an official award of the Venice Film Festival. Inspired by Cannes' Caméra d'Or, it is awarded to the best first feature film work presented in any section of the festival.
Cameroonian filmmaker Bernard Auguste Kouemo Yanghu was the most recent winner for House of the Wind (2026), at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
History As of 2026, the winner receives a cash prize of $100,000 USD, which is divided equally between the director and the producer.
Among its winners are: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Abdellatif Kechiche, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Brady Corbet, Xavier Legrand, and Alice Diop.
Winners
1990s Year English Title Original Title Director Production Country1999This Is the GardenQuesto è il giardinoGiovanni MadernaItaly
2000s Year English Title Original Title Director Production Country2000Poetical RefugeeLa Faute à VoltaireAbdellatif KechicheFrance2001Bread and MilkKruh in mlekoJan CvitkovicSlovenia2002Two FriendsDue AmiciSpiro Scimone and Francesco SframeliItalyRoger DodgerDylan KiddUnited States2003The ReturnВозвращениеAndrey ZvyagintsevRussia2004The Great JourneyLe Grand VoyageIsmaël FerroukhiFrance, Morocco, Bulgaria, Turkey200513 TzametiGéla BabluaniFrance2006KhadakJessica Woodworth and Peter BrosensBelgium, Germany, Holland2007The ZoneLa zonaRodrigo PláSpain, Mexico2008Mid-August LunchPranzo di ferragostoGianni Di GregorioItaly2009ClashEngkwentroPepe DioknoPhilippines
2010s Year English Title Original Title Director Production Country2010MajorityCogunlukSeren YüceTurkey2011Là-bas: A Criminal EducationLà-bas - Educazione criminaleGuido LombardiItaly2012MoldKüfAli AydinTurkey, Germany2013White ShadowNoaz DesheItaly, Germany, Tanzania2014CourtChaitanya TamhaneIndia2015The Childhood of a LeaderBrady CorbetUnited States, United Kingdom, Hungary, Sweden, France, Canada, Belgium2016The Last of Usآخر واحد فيناAla Eddine SlimLebanon, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates2017CustodyJusqu'à la gardeXavier LegrandFrance2018The Day I Lost My Shadowيوم أضعت ظليSoudade KaadanSyria, Lebanon, France, Qatar2019You Will Die at Twentyستموت في العشرينAmjad Abu AlalaSudan, France, Egypt, Germany, Norway
2020s Year English Title Original Title Director Production CountryRef.2020ListenAna Rocha de SousaUnited Kingdom, Portugal2021ImmaculateImaculatMonica Stan and George Chiper-LillemarkRomania2022Saint OmerAlice DiopFrance2023Love Is a Gun愛是一把槍Lee Hong-chiHong Kong, Taiwan2024Familiar TouchSarah FriedlandUnited States2025Short SummerNastia KorkiaGermany, France, Serbia2026House of the WindLa maison du ventBernard Auguste Kouemo YanghuCameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Other winners
Special mentions Year English Title Original Title Director Production Country1999Bye Bye AfricaMahamat-Saleh HarounChad, France2004SaimirFrancesco MunziItaly20067 Years7 AnsJean-Pascal HattuFrance
References
External links The Venice Film Festival at the IMDb