The 61st annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 1 and 11 September 2004, at Venice Lido in Italy.
British filmmaker John Boorman was the jury president for the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to Vera Drake, directed by Mike Leigh.
On this edition, a new independent section, Venice Days (Giornate degli autori), was created "for free cinema, new talents and new stories". This section is organized by the ANAC (National Association of Cinematographic Authors) and the API (Independent Authors & Producers).
Also in this edition, The Secret History of Italian Cinema was launched, a new official retrospective section, with the aim of restoring and systematically rediscovering sides of the Italian cinema that have been "forgotten, invisible, unknown or misunderstood". The retrospective was planned for the following four editions (61st to 64th editions), later was extended with the These Phantoms: Italian Cinema Rediscovered (65th edition), and the Italian Comedy Retrospective (66th edition). The Fondazione Prada was the main sponsor/partner of this section.
The festival opened with The Terminal by Steven Spielberg, and closed with Steamboy by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Juries Main Competition (Venezia 61) John Boorman, British filmmaker - Jury President Wolfgang Becker, German filmmaker Mimmo Calopresti, Italian director Hsu Feng, Taiwanese actress and producer Scarlett Johansson, American actress Spike Lee, American filmmaker, actor and producer Dusan Makavejev, Serbian filmmaker Helen Mirren, British actress Pietro Scalia, Italian editor
Orizzonti Nicolas Philibert, French director - Jury President Brian Helgeland, American director Fiorella Infascelli, Italian director
Venezia Cinema Digitale Mike Figgis, British filmmaker and composer - Jury President Shozo Ichiyama, Japanese film producer Claire Simon, French filmmaker
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country 3-Iron 빈집 Kim Ki-duk South Korea, Japan 5x2 Cinq fois deux François Ozon France Another Life Ovunque sei Michele Placido Italy Birth Jonathan Glazer United States Café Lumière 珈琲時光 Hou Hsiao-hsien Japan, Taiwan Delivery Nicos Panayotopoulos Greece Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城 Hayao Miyazaki Japan The Intruder L'intrus Claire Denis France The Keys to the House Le chiavi di casa Gianni Amelio Italy, France, Germany Kings and Queen Arnaud Desplechin France Land of Plenty Wim Wenders United States Low Life 하류인생 Im Kwon-taek South Korea One Long Winter Without Fire † Tout un hiver sans feu Greg Zglinski Switzerland Palindromes Todd Solondz United States Promised Land הארץ המובטחת Amos Gitai Israel, France Remote Access Удалённый доступ Svetlana Proskurina Russia The Sea Inside Mar adentro Alejandro Amenábar Spain, France, Italy Stray Dogs Sag-haye velgard Marzieh Meshkini Iran, France, Afghanistan Vanity Fair Mira Nair United Kingdom, United States Vera Drake Mike Leigh United Kingdom Working Slowly (Radio Alice) Lavorare con lentezza Guido Chiesa Italy The World 世界 Jia Zhangke China † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Bridesmaid La demoiselle d'honneur Claude Chabrol France, Italy, Germany Collateral Michael Mann United States Eros Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh and Wong Kar-wai France, Hong Kong, Italy, United States The Fifth Empire O quinto imperio Manoel de Oliveira Portugal, France Finding Neverland Marc Forster United States How We Got the Italian Movie Business Into Trouble: The True Story of Franco and Ciccio Come inguaiammo il cinema italiano Ciprì & Maresco Italy An Italian Romance L'amore ritrovato Carlo Mazzacurati The Manchurian Candidate Jonathan Demme United States The Merchant of Venice Michael Radford United Kingdom, Italy The Remains of Nothing Il resto di niente Antonietta De Lillo Italy She Hate Me Spike Lee United States Steamboy (closing film) スチームボーイ Katsuhiro Otomo Japan The Terminal (opening film) Steven Spielberg United States Throw Down 柔道龍虎榜 Johnnie To Hong Kong The Tuner Настройщик Kira Muratova Russia, UkraineSpecial EventShark TaleVictoria Jenson and Bibo BergeronUnited States
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section: English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition The 3 Rooms of Melancholia Melancholian 3 huonetta Pirjo Honkasalo Finland, Sweden, Denmark Agnes and His Brothers Agnes und seine Brüder Oskar Roehler GermanyAmbasadori, cautam patrieMircea DaneliucRomania Criminal † Gregory Jacobs United States Gilles' Wife La femme de Gilles Frédéric Fonteyne Belgium, France, Luxembourg The Grand Sons Les petits fils Ilan Duran Cohen France I Can See It in Your Eyes † Te lo leggo negli occhi Valia Santella Italy Izo Takashi Miike Japan A Less Bad World Un mundo menos peor Alejandro Agresti Argentina A Love Song for Bobby Long † Shainee Gabel United States Mysterious Skin Gregg Araki United States, Netherlands Rolling Family Familia rodante Pablo Trapero Argentina, Spain Saimir † Francesco Munzi Italy The Sleeping Child † L'enfant endormi Yasmine Kassari Morocco, Belgium Stryker Noam Gonick Canada They Came Back † Les revenants Robin Campillo FranceVento di terraVincenzo MarraItaly Vital ヴィタール Shinya Tsukamoto Japan Yesterday Darrell Roodt South Africa Zulu Love Letter Lettre d'amour zoulou Ramadan Suleman South Africa, France, GermanySpecial EventsL’ami y’a bonRachid BoucharebFrance, Algeria, GermanyCome Back, Africa (1959)Lionel RogosinUnited StatesThe Hamburg CellAntonia BirdUnited KingdomHeimat 3: A Chronicle of Endings and Beginning (6 episodes)Heimat 3 - Chronik einer ZeitenwendeEdgar ReitzGermanyMúsica cubanaGerman KralTell Them Who You AreMark S. WexlerUnited StatesTide TableWilliam KentridgeSouth Africa † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.
Short Films Competition (Corto Cortissimo) The following films were selected for the Short Films Competition (Corto Cortissimo):
Title Director(s Production country In competition A occhi aperti Lorenza Indovina Italy Agna niata Ektoras Lyghizos Greece Aïsha Newton I. Aduaka Nigeria, Senegal The Arsonist Myles Sorensen United States The Carpenter and his Clumsy Wife Peter Foott Ireland Chamaco Tim Parsa Mexico Close Tom Hopkins Ireland La culpa del alpinista Daniel Sánchez Arévalo Spain Dim Ann-Kristin Wecker Germany Il dio della pioggia Angelo Amoroso D'Aragona Italy Goodbye Steve Hudson Germany Határontúl Árpád Schilling Hungary Last Night Sean Mewshaw United States Moustache Vicki Sugars Australia Passatempo Francesco Lagi Italy A piscina Iana Joao Viana Portugal Rain Is Falling Holger Ernst Germany, Morocco Resurrection Mitchell Lichtenstein United States Shengri Bertrand Lee Singapore Signe d'appartenance Kamel Cherif Belgium, Tunisia Silent Companion Elham Hosseinzade Iran Sous le bleu David Oelhoffen France Srce je kos Mesa (aka The Heart Is a Piece of Meat) Jan Cvitkovic Slovenia Streets Jon Howe United Kingdom Trofast Trond Fausa Aurvaag Norway White on Blue Ramunas Greicius LithuaniaOut of CompetitionColeridge's CouchAngeles WooUnited StatesSpecial Events 1 - Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: Scuola Nazionale di CinemaIl potere sottileDiego RonsisvalleItalySpecial Events - Ipotesi Cinema: BolognaPostazioni della memoriaErmanno Olmi and the students of Ipotesi CinemaItalySpecial Events 2 - Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: Scuola Nazionale di CinemaI gabbiani - studio su "Il gabbiano" di Anton CecovFrancesca ArchibugiItalySpecial Events 3 - Corto d'autore: ItaliaToo Short for SkyPappi CorsicatoItalyBody & SoulTheo EshetuCorpo/ImmagineMarco Puccioni Venetian Nights The following films were screened for the Venetian Nights section (Venezia Mezzanotte):
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Art of Losing Perder es cuestión de método Sergio Cabrera Colombia, Spain Enduring Love Roger Michell United Kingdom Eyes of Crystal Occhi di cristallo Eros Puglielli Italy A Home at the End of the World † Michael Mayer United States Howrah Bridge / The Youth of the Land Yuva Mani Ratnam India Man on Fire Tony Scott United States Puteri Gunung Ledang Saw Teong Hin Malaysia Three... Extremes 三更2 / 쓰리, 몬스터 / 美しい夜、残酷な朝 Park Chan-Wook, Takashi Miike and Fruit Chan Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan To Sleep Next To Her † Volevo solo dormirle addosso Eugenio Cappuccio ItalyTitanus's one hundredth yearThe DemonIl demonio (1963)Brunello RondiItaly † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.
Venice Digital Cinema A section intended to provide an overview of the new expressive possibilities granted by digital technologies. English title Original title Director(s) Production country 20 Fingers † 20 angosht Mania Akbari Iran, United Kingdom Impermanence Goutam Ghose India The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish Peter Greenaway United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, LuxembourgCuoco contadinoLuca GuadagninoItaly Homecoming Jon Jost United States Letters to Ali Clara Law AustraliaLa vita è breve ma la giornata è lunghissimaLucio Pellegrini, Gianni ZanasiItaly Pin Boy Parapalos Ana Poliak ArgentinaUn silenzio particolareStefano RulliItaly Marebito 稀人 Takashi Shimizu JapanSpecial EventsL'ora della lucertolaMimmo CaloprestiItalyBellissimeGiovanna GagliardoKiller Shrimps †Piero GoliaSwitzerlandThe TakeAvi LewisCanadaFinal Fantasy VII: Advent ChildrenファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン,Tetsuya NomuraJapanEmbeddedTim RobbinsUnited StatesColpi di LuceMatteo Spinola, Stefano Della Casa, Francesca CalvelliItalyDigital AfricaYizo YizoAngus Gibson, Andrew Dosunmu, Teboho MahlatsiSouth Africa † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.
Retrospective - The Secret History of Italian Cinema 1 A new retrospective section on Italian Cinema aiming to restore and systematically rediscover sides of the Italian cinema That Have Been "Forgotten, Invisible, Unknown Or Misunderstood". This first edition of the retrospective is titled Italian Kings of the B's.