The 71st annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 27 August to 6 September 2014, at Venice Lido in Italy.
French composer Alexandre Desplat was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actress Luisa Ranieri hosted the opening and closing nights of the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson.
American editor Thelma Schoonmaker and American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman were the recipients of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
The festival poster paid tribute to François Truffaut, as it featured the character of Antoine Doinel portrayed by Jean-Pierre Léaud from Truffaut's 1959 drama film The 400 Blows.
The festival opened with Birdman by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and closed with The Golden Era by Ann Hui.
Juries
Main Competition (Venezia 71) Alexandre Desplat, French composer - Jury President Joan Chen, Chinese actress and director Philip Gröning, German director Jessica Hausner, Austrian filmmaker Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian novelist Sandy Powell, English costume designer Tim Roth, British actor Elia Suleiman, Palestinian filmmaker Carlo Verdone, Italian actor and director
Horizons (Orizzonti) Ann Hui, Hong Kong director - Jury President Moran Atias, Israeli actress Pernilla August, Swedish actress and director David Chase, American writer and director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chadian director Roberto Minervini, Italian director Alin Taşçıyan, Turkish critic
Opera Prima (Venice Award for a Debut Film) Alice Rohrwacher, Italian filmmaker - Jury President Lisandro Alonso: Argentine filmmaker Ron Mann, Canadian filmmaker Vivian Qu, Chinese filmmaker Răzvan Rădulescu, Romanian novelist and filmmaker
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country 99 Homes Ramin Bahrani United States Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (opening film) Alejandro G. Iñárritu Black Souls Anime nere Francesco Munzi Italy, France The Cut Fatih Akin Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Poland, Turkey Far from Men Loin des hommes David Oelhoffen France Fires on the Plain 野火 Shinya Tsukamoto Japan Good Kill Andrew Niccol United States Hungry Hearts Saverio Costanzo Italy The Last Hammer Blow Le dernier coup de marteau Alix Delaporte France Leopardi Il giovane favoloso Mario Martone Italy The Look of Silence Senyap Joshua Oppenheimer Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom Manglehorn David Gordon Green United States Pasolini Abel Ferrara France, Belgium, Italy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron Roy Andersson Sweden, Germany, Norway, France The Postman's White Nights Белые ночи почтальона Алексея Тряпицына Andrei Konchalovsky Russia The Price of Fame La rançon de la gloire Xavier Beauvois France, Belgium, Switzerland Red Amnesia 闯入者 Wang Xiaoshuai China Sivas Kaan Müjdeci Turkey Tales Rakhshān Banietemad Iran Three Hearts 3 cœurs Benoît Jacquot France
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryFiction Films The Boxtrolls Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable United States Burying the Ex Joe Dante Dearest 親愛的 Peter Ho-sun Chan Hong Kong, China The Golden Era (closing film) 黃金時代 Ann Hui China, Hong Kong The Humbling Barry Levinson United States Nymphomaniac Volume II (uncut version) Lars Von Trier Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium The Old Man of Belem O velho do restelo Manoel de Oliveira Portugal, France Olive Kitteridge (4 episodes) Lisa Cholodenko United States Perez. Edoardo De Angelis Italy Revivre 화장 Im Kwon-taek South Korea She's Funny That Way Peter Bogdanovich United States The Sound and the Fury James Franco Tsili Amos Gitai Israel, Russia, Italy, France Words with Gods Guillermo Arriaga, Emir Kusturica, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair, Warwick Thornton, Hector Babenco, Bahman Ghobadi, Hideo Nakata and Alex de la Iglesia Mexico, United StatesNon FictionThe Devil's SoupLa zuppa del demonioDavide FerrarioItaly In the Basement Im Keller Ulrich Seidl Austria Italy in a Day Un giorno da italiani Gabriele Salvatores Italy, United Kingdom The State-Mafia Pact La trattativa Sabina Guzzanti Italy
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition Belluscone: A Sicilian Story Belluscone, una storia siciliana Franco Maresco Italy Bypass Duane Hopkins United Kingdom Court Chaitanya Tamhane India Cymbeline Michael Almereyda United States Goodnight Mommy Ich seh, Ich seh Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala Austria Heaven Knows What Josh Safdie and Ben Safdie United States, France Hill of Freedom 자유의 언덕 Hong Sang-soo South Korea Jackie & Ryan Ami Canaan Mann United States Line of Credit Kreditis Limiti Salome Alexi Georgia, Germany, France Nabat Elchin Musaoglu Azerbaijan Near Death Experience Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern France The President پرزیدنت Mohsen Makhmalbaf Georgia, France, United Kingdom, Germany Reality Réalité Quentin Dupieux France, Belgium Theeb ذيب Naji Abu Nowar Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, United Kingdom These Are the Rules Takva Su Pravila Ognjen Sviličić Croatia, France, Serbia, MacedoniaLa vita oscenaRenato De MariaItaly Without Pity Senza nessuna pietà Michele Alhaique Short Films - Competition3/105Avelina Prat and Diego OpazoSpainArtArtaAdrian SitaruRomaniaThe BabyBachehAli AsgariItaly, IranCamsCarl-Johan WestregårdSwedenCastillo y el ArmadoPedro HarresBrazilDaily BreadPat-LehemIdan HubelIsraelEra ApocryphaBrendan SweenyUnited StatesFerdinand KnappAndrea BaldiniFranceGreat Heat大暑Chen TaoChinaIn OvertimeFi Al Waqt Al Dae'aRami YasinJordan, PalestineMademoiselleGuillaume GouixFranceMaryamSidi SalehIndonesiaOut of competitionL'attesa del maggioSimone MassiItalyLift You UpRamin BahraniUnited StatesOn the Bride's SideIo sto con la sposaAntonio Augugliaro, Gabriele Del Grande, Khaled Soliman Al NassiryItaly, Palestine
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 Audience (aka Papal Audience) L'udienza (1971) Marco Ferreri Italy The Bride (1973) Gelin Ömer Lütfi Akad Turkey China is Near (1967) La Cina è vicina Marco Bellocchio Italy Guys and Dolls (1955) Joseph L. Mankiewicz United States The Innocents (1961) Jack Clayton United Kingdom The Iron Mask (1929) Allan Dwan United States Love Exists L'Amour existe (1960) Maurice Pialat France Macbeth (The Tragedy of Macbeth) (1971) Roman Polanski United Kingdom, United States The Man from Laramie (1955) Anthony Mann United States Mouchette (1967) Robert Bresson France No End (1985) Bez końca Krzysztof Kieślowski Poland Of Wayward Love (1962) L'amore difficile (segment: L'avventura di un soldato) Nino Manfredi Italy One Way or Another Todo modo (1976) Elio Petri Only She Knows (1960) 彼女だけが知っている Osamu Takahashi Japan A Special Day (1977)|| data-sort-value="Giornata" | Una giornata particolare Ettore Scola Italy Stolen Kisses (1968) Baisers volés François Truffaut France The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger United Kingdom Umberto D. (1952) Vittorio De Sica Italy Walking the Streets of Moscow (1963) Ya shagayu po Moskve Georgiy Daneliya Soviet Union The Warrior (1916) Maciste alpino Luigi Maggi, Luigi Romano Borgnetto Italy Without Pity (1948) Senza pietà Alberto Lattuada Documentaries about CinemaAnimata resistenzaFrancesco Montagner & Alberto GirottoItalyFlowers of Taipei – Taiwan New CinemaGuangyin de gushi – Taiwan Xin DianyingChinlin HsiehTaiwanRed Chairs - Parma and the CinemaPoltrone Rosse - Parma e il CinemaFrancesco BarilliItalyAltmanRon MannCanada
Biennale College - Cinema The following films were screened for the "Biennale College - Cinema" section, a higher education training workshop for micro-budget feature films: English title Original title Director(s) Country H. Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia United States, Argentina Blood Cells Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore United Kingdom Short Skin Short Skin - I dolori del giovane Edo Duccio Chiarini Italy, Iran, United Kingdom
Final Cut in Venice The following films were screened for the "Final Cut in Venice" section, a workshop to support the post-production of films from Africa: English title Original title Director(s) Country The Council Al majlis Yahya Alabdallah Jordan, United Arab Emirates I Have a Picture Mohamed Zedan Egypt A Maid For Each Makhdoumin Maher Abi Samra Lebanon, France Possessed by Djinn Dalia Al Kury Jordan, Germany Rollaball Eddie Edwards South Africa, Ghana Tee Shirt Man Tovoniaina Rasoanaivo Madagascar
Special Screenings The following films were the Special Screenings of the Official Selection: 9x10 novanta, by various Italian directors. A film composed of footages from the Luce Archives, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Istituto Luce. It was presented in collaboration with Venice Days (see also section below). Taipei Factory II by Hou Chi-Jan, Cho Li, and Hsieh Chun-Yi (Chinese Taipei)
Independent Sections International Critics’ Week The following films were selected for the 29th Venice International Film Critics' Week:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition 40-Love Terre battue Stéphane Demoustier France The Coffin in the Mountain 殡棺 Xin Yukun China The Council of Birds Zerrumpelt Herz Timm Kröger Germany Dancing with Maria Ivan Gergolet Italy, Argentina, Slovenia Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere Đập cánh giữa không trung Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp Vietnam, France, Norway, Germany No One's Child Ничије дете Vuk Ršumović Serbia Villa Touma Suha Arraf Israel, GermanyOut of competitionMelbourne (opening film)Nima JavidiIranThe Market (closing film)Arance e MartelloDiego BianchiItaly
Venice Days The following films were selected for the 11th edition of the Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition Before I Disappear Shawn Christensen United States Between 10 and 12 Tussen 10 en 12 Peter Hoogendoorn Netherlands The Dinner I nostri ragazzi Ivano De Matteo Italy The Farewell Party Mita Tova Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon Israel, Germany The Goob Guy Myhill United Kingdom Labour of Love Asha jaoar majhe Aditya Vikram Sengupta India Messi Álex de la Iglesia Spain Métamorphoses Christophe Honoré France The Midfielder El 5 de Talleres Adrián Biniez Argentina, Uruguay One on One 일대일 Kim Ki-duk South Korea Patria Felice Farina Italy Return to Ithaca Retour à Ithaque Laurent Cantet France The Smell of Us Larry Clark France Summer Nights Les nuits d'été Mario Fanfani They Have Escaped He ovat paenneet JP Valkepää Finland, NetherlandsSpecial events9x10 novantaMarco Bonfanti, Sara Fgaier,Claudio Giovannesi, Alina Marazzi,Pietro Marcello, Giovanni Piperno,Costanza Quatriglio, Paola Randi,Alice Rohrwacher, Roland SejkoItalyFive StarKeith MillerUnited StatesThe LackMasbedoItalyThe Show MAS Go OnRä di MartinoMiu Miu Women's TalesSomeoneNanimonoMiranda JulyItaly, United StatesSpark and LightSo Yong KimPremio LuxClass EnemyRazredni sovražnikRok BičekSloveniaIdaPaweł PawlikowskiPoland, DenmarkGirlhoodBande de fillesCéline SciammaFrance
Official Awards
In Competition (Venezia 71) Golden Lion: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson Silver Lion for Best Director: Andrei Konchalovsky for The Postman's White Nights Grand Jury Prize: The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Adam Driver for Hungry Hearts Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher for Hungry Hearts Marcello Mastroianni Award: Romain Paul for The Last Hammer Blow Best Screenplay: Rakhshān Banietemad & Farid Mostafavi for Tales Special Jury Prize: Sivas by Kaan Müjdeci