Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the whole world. The Venice Film Festival was also known as Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica when it first came to existence in the year 1932 as a component of the 18th Venice Biennale. The Venice Biennale is one of the major biennial exhibition and festival for contemporary art in Venice. The Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica gave birth to the concept of film festivals. The first Venice Film Festival was held on the 6th of July until the 21st of August under the sponsorship of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, (the current President of the Biennale at that time), sculptor Antonio Maraini (the General Secretary of the Biennale at that time) and the General Secretary of the International Institute for Educational Cinema in 1932, Luciano De Feo. Luciano De Feo (who was based in Rome) was the first ever director-selector of the Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica. The 1932 Venice Film Festival was held on the Hotel Excelsior in Venice Lido. Although the Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica at that time was not a film festival competition, it incorporated the foremost films of that time and by which became the classics in the history of the cinema industry. One of the first film that the Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica featured was the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by “Rouben Mamoullian.
The recent Venice Film Festival is divided into four sections. These are the “Venezia”, “Out of Competition”, “Orizzonti” and the “Corto Cortissimo”. The Venezia features independent films while the “Out of Competition” section features the biggest films of the competition. “Orizzonti” showcases a platform for new trends in the industry and the “Corto Cortissimo” is competition of short films. The most coveted award of the Venice Film Festival is the Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica’s Golden Lion and the Golden Lion Honorary. The Golden Lion was previously known as the “Gran Premio Internazionale di Venezia” between 1947 until 1949. However it was later changed into “Leon di San Marco” or the “Lion of St. Mark on 1949 and was again change on the coming of the Mostra Internazionale d`Arte Cinematografica. The first awardee of the Golden Lion was “Sirena” by “Karel Stekly”.
The most recent Venice International Film Festival is now under the direction of Marco Müller. The 63rd Venice International Film Festival kicks off on the 30th of August 2006 and will end on the 9th of September 2006. Screenings of the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica participating films are held all over the city of Venice.
The Venice International Film Festival is the pioneer of all film festival in the world. It made the world wide film industry more competitive. And for the first time in its history, the Venice Film Festival included digital movies in the film festival.