The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 29 August to 8 September 2012, at Venice Lido in Italy.
American filmmaker Michael Mann was the jury president for the main competition. Polish actress Kasia Smutniak was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to Pietà by Kim Ki-duk.
The festival opened with The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mira Nair, and closed with The Man Who Laughs by Jean-Pierre Ameris.
Juries Main competition (Venezia 69) Michael Mann, American filmmaker - Jury President Marina Abramović, Serbian performance artist Laetitia Casta, French actress Peter Ho-sun Chan, Hong Kong filmmaker Ari Folman, Israeli filmmaker Matteo Garrone, Italian filmmaker Ursula Meier, French-Swiss filmmaker Samantha Morton, English actress and director Pablo Trapero, Argentine director
Orizzonti Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian actor - Jury President Sandra den Hamer, Dutch director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Runa Islam, Bangladeshi-born British visual artist and filmmaker Jason Kliot, American independent producer Nadine Labaki, Lebanese actress and filmmaker Milcho Manchevski, Macedonian filmmaker Amir Naderi, Iranian film filmmaker and photographer
Opera Prima (Venice Award for a Debut Film) Shekhar Kapur, Indian film director, actor and producer - Jury President Michel Demopoulos, Greek film critic Isabella Ferrari, Italian actress Matt Reeves, American filmmaker and producer Bob Sinclar, French record producer, DJ, and Yellow Productions owner
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country At Any Price Ramin Bahrani United StatesBetrayal Измена Kirill Serebrennikov Russia Dormant Beauty Bella addormentata Marco Bellocchio Italy, France The Fifth Season La cinquième saison Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth Belgium, Netherlands, France Fill the Void למלא את החלל Rama Burshtein Israel It Was the Son È stato il figlio Daniele Ciprì ItalyLines of Wellington Linhas de Wellington Valeria Sarmiento Portugal, France The Master Paul Thomas Anderson United States Beyond Outrage アウトレイジ ビヨンド Takeshi Kitano JapanParadise: Faith Paradies: Glaube Ulrich Seidl Austria, France, Germany Passion Brian De Palma France, Germany Pietà 피에타 Kim Ki-duk South Korea Something in the Air Après mai Olivier Assayas France A Special Day Un giorno speciale Francesca Comencini Italy Spring Breakers Harmony Korine United States Superstar Xavier Giannoli France, BelgiumThy Womb Sinapupunan Brillante Mendoza Philippines To the Wonder Terrence Malick United States
Out of Competition The following films were selected for the out of competition section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Fiction Bait 3D Kimble Rendall Australia, Singapore The Company You Keep Robert Redford United States Disconnect Henry-Alex Rubin Du hast es versprochen Alex Schmidt Germany Gebo and the Shadow O Gebo e a Sombra Manoel de Oliveira Portugal, France The Iceman Ariel Vromen United States Looking for Hortense Cherchez Hortense Pascal Bonitzer France Love Is All You Need Den Skaldede Frisør Susanne Bier Denmark, Sweden The Man Who Laughs (closing film) L’homme qui rit Jean-Pierre Ameris France, Czech Republic Penance (episodes 1-5) 贖罪 Kiyoshi Kurosawa Japan The Reluctant Fundamentalist (opening film) Mira Nair India, Pakistan, United States Tai Chi 0 太極：從零開始 Stephen Fung ChinaNon-fictionBad 25Spike LeeUnited StatesEnzo Avitabile Music LifeJonathan DemmeItaly, United StatesLullabye to My FatherAmos GitaiIsrael, France, SwitzerlandPeter Brook: The TightropeSimon BrookUnited Kingdom, France, ItalySpecial ScreeningsAnton’s Right HereAnton tut ryadomLyubov ArkusRussiaClarisseLiliana CavaniItalyCome voglio che sia il mio futuroMaurizio ZaccaroThe Human CargoLa nave dolceDaniele VicariItaly, AlbaniaImpenetrableEl impenetrableDaniele Incalcaterra, Fausta QuattriniArgentina, FranceIt Was Better TomorrowYa man aachHinde BoujemaaTunisiaMedici con l'AfricaCarlo MazzacuratiItalySfiorando Il MuroSilvia Giralucci, Luca RicciardiWitness: LibyaAbdallah OmeishUnited States
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition Araf - Somewhere in Between Araf Yeşim Ustaoğlu Turkey Balancing Act Gli equilibristi Ivano De Matteo Italy, France Boxing Day Bernard Rose United Kingdom, United States The Cutoff Man Menatek Ha-Maim Idan Hubel Israel Fly with the Crane 告訴他們，我乘白鶴去了 Li Ruijun China A Hijacking Kapringen Tobias Lindholm Denmark The Interval L'intervallo Leonardo Di Costanzo Italy, Switzerland, Germany Lions Leones Jazmin Lopez Argentina, France, Netherlands Low Tide Roberto Minervini United States, Italy, Belgium Me Too Ja tozhe hochu Aleksei Balabanov Russia The Paternal House Khanéh Pedari Kianoosh Ayari Iran Pretty Butterflies Bellas mariposas Salvatore Mereu Italy Tango libre Frédéric Fonteyne Belgium, France, Luxembourg Three Sisters 三姊妹 Wang Bing China, France, Hong Kong Wadjda وجدة Haifaa al-Mansour Saudi Arabia, Germany Winter of Discontent الشتا إللى فات Ibrahim El Batout Egypt Yema Djamila Sahraoui Algeria, France The Millennial Rapture Sennen no yuraku Koji Wakamatsu JapanShort Films CompetitionCargoCarlo SironiItalyDiamond SutraJingang JingTsai Ming-liangTaiwanThe FluteBansulliMin BhamNepalFrank-Étienne vers la béatitudeConstance MeyerFranceI’m the OnePaola MorabitoAustraliaInvitationCho-DeMin-Young YooSouth KoreaLiving Still LifeBertrand MandicoFrance, Belgium, GermanyLuisa no está en casaCelia Rico ClavellinoSpainOut Of FrameTitloi telousYorgos ZoisGreeceLas manos limpiasCarlos ArmellaMexicoMarlaNick KingAustraliaMiracle BoyJake MahaffyUnited StatesResistanceResistenteRenate Costa Perdomo, Salla SorriDenmark, Paraguay, FinlandLa salaAlessio GiannoneItalyThe TunerO AfinadorFernando Camargo, Matheus PariziBrazil
Venice Classics The following selection of restored classic films and documentaries on cinema were screened for this section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Restored Films The 10th Victim (1965) La decima vittima Elio Petri Italy American Dreams (1984) James Benning United States Carmen Comes Home (1951) カルメン故郷に帰る Kinoshita Keisuke Japan Chimes at Midnight (1965) Campanadas a medianoche Orson Welles Spain Fanny and Alexander (1982) Fanny och Alexander Ingmar Bergman Sweden Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Howard Hawks United States The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) Joseph L. Mankiewicz Heaven’s Gate (1980) Michael Cimino Miracle (1982) Himala Ishmael Bernal Philippines Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto Elio Petri Italy The Mattei Affair (1972) Il caso Mattei Francesco Rosi Pigsty (1969) Porcile Pier Paolo Pasolini Red Shirts (1952) Camicie rosse Goffredo Alessandrini, Francesco Rosi Stromboli (1950) Stromboli, terra di Dio Roberto Rossellini Sunset Boulevard (1950) Billy Wilder United States Tell Me Lies (1968) Peter Brook United Kingdom To Be Twenty in the Aures (1972) Avoir 20 ans dans les Aurès René Vautier FranceDocumentaries about CinemaLas versiones de campanadas a medianoche de Orson WellesLuciano BerriatúaSpainMonicelli: La versione di MarioMario Canale, Felice Farina, Mario Gianni, Wilma Labate, Annarosa MorriItalyGli anni delle immagini perduteAdolfo ContiDreamersConteurs d'imagesNoelle DeschampsFranceDai nostri inviati alla Mostra di VeneziaGiuseppe Giannotti, Enrico Salvatori, Davide SavelliItalyHarry Dean Stanton: Partly FictionSophie HuberUnited States, SwitzerlandMiradas múltiples (La máquina loca)Emilio MailléMexico, France, SpainLa guerra dei vulcaniFrancesco PatiernoItalyValentino's GhostMichael SinghUnited States, IndiaSedia Elettrica: il making of del film Io e TeMonica StrambiniItaly
«80!» The following rare films from the Biennale's Historical Archives were screened for this retrospective section:
English TitleOriginal title Director(s) Production country Ahora te vamos a llamar hermano (1971) Raoul Ruiz Chile A Bagful of Fleas (1963)Pytel blech Vera Chytilová Czechoslovakia The Brigand (1961) Il brigante Renato Castellani Italy God Needs Man (1950) Dieu a besoin des hommes Jean Delannoy France Free at Last (1968) Gregory Shuker, James Desmond, Nicholas Proferes United States Genghis Khan (1950) Manuel Conde, Salvador Lou Philippines The Last Night (1936) Poslednjaja noc’ Julij Jakovlevic Rajzman Soviet Union Mud-Covered City (1963) Zablácené Mesto Václav Táborský Czechoslovakia Pagine chiuse (1968) Gianni Da Campo Italy Stress Is Three (1968) Stress-es tres-tres Carlos Saura Spain
Special Screenings The following films of the Official Selection were presented as Special Screenings:
Original Title Director(s) Production country Carmel (2009) Amos Gitai Israel, France, Italy Convitto Falcone Pasquale Scimeca Italy Hommage to Simone Massi Simone Massi
Independent Sections Venice International Film Critics' Week The following films were selected for the Critics' Week:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition Eat Sleep Die Äta sova dö Gabriela Pichler Sweden The Ideal City La città ideale Luigi Lo Cascio Italy Mold Küf Ali Aydın Turkey, Germany A Month in Thailand O luna in Thailandia Paul Negoescu Romania She Doesn't Want to Sleep Alone No quiero dormir sola Natalia Beristain Mexico Welcome Home Tom Heene Belgium Lotus Xiao he Liu Shu ChinaOut of CompetitionWater (Opening film)Nir Sa'ar, Maya Sarfaty, Mohammad Fuad, Yona Rozenkier, Mohammad Bakri, Ahmad Bargouthi, Pini Tavger, Tal HaringIsrael, Palestine, FranceKiss of the Damned (closing film)Xan CassavetesUnited States
Venice Days The following films were selected for the Venice Days section: