The 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September, 2016, at Venice Lido in Italy.
English filmmaker Sam Mendes was the jury president of the main competition. Italian actress Sonia Bergamasco hosted the opening and closing nights of the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Woman Who Left by Lav Diaz.
A new project named Venice Production Bridge was introduced in this edition of the festival. The new project was intended to attract industry professionals and focus on original projects for films, internet, series, virtual reality, and works in progress, in order to help their development and production. It is also meant to work in conjunction with the Venice Film Market which started in 2012. Such projects as Final Cut in Venice, meant to help finance original films from African countries, and the Venice Gap-Financing Market will come under its scope.
The festival opened with La La Land by Damien Chazelle, and closed with The Magnificent Seven by Antoine Fuqua.
Juries Main competition (Venezia 73) Sam Mendes, British filmmaker and stage director - Jury President Laurie Anderson, American artist, composer, musician and film director Gemma Arterton, English actress Giancarlo De Cataldo, Italian novelist and screenwriter Nina Hoss, German actress Chiara Mastroianni, French-Italian actress Joshua Oppenheimer, American filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuelan film director, screenwriter and producer Zhao Wei, Chinese actress, singer and film director
Orizzonti Robert Guédiguian, French filmmaker, producer and actor - Jury President Jim Hoberman, American film critic and academic Nelly Karim, Egyptian actress, fashion model and ballerina Valentina Lodovini, Italian film and TV actress Moon So-ri, South Korean actress, film director and screenwriter José María "Chema" Prado, director of the Filmoteca Española Chaitanya Tamhane, Indian filmmaker
Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film Kim Rossi Stuart, Italian actor and director - Jury President Rosa Bosch, Spanish-born film producer Brady Corbet, American actor and filmmaker Pilar López de Ayala, Spanish film actress Serge Toubiana, Tunisian-born journalist and film critic
Official Sections
In competition (Venezia 73) The following films were selected for the main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Arrival Denis Villeneuve United States The Bad Batch Ana Lily Amirpour The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez Les Beaux Jours d'Aranjuez Wim Wenders France, Germany The Blind Christ El Cristo ciego Christopher Murray Chile Brimstone Martin Koolhoven Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom The Distinguished Citizen El ciudadano ilustre Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat Argentina, Spain Frantz François Ozon France, Germany Jackie Pablo Larraín United States, Chile, France, Italy La La Land Damien Chazelle United States The Light Between Oceans Derek Cianfrance United Kingdom, United States, India, Canada Nocturnal Animals Tom Ford United States On the Milky Road Lungo la Via Lattea Emir Kusturica Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mexico, Serbia, United Kingdom, United States Paradise Рай Andrei Konchalovsky Russia Piuma Roan Johnson Italy These Days Questi giorni Giuseppe Piccioni Spira Mirabilis Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti The Untamed La Region Salvaje Amat Escalante Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland Voyage of Time Terrence Malick United States The Woman Who Left Ang Babaeng Humayo Lav Diaz Philippines A Woman's Life Une Vie Stéphane Brizé France, Belgium Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Age of Shadows 밀정 Kim Jee-woon South Korea ChuckThe Bleeder Philippe Falardeau United States Gantz: O Yasushi Kawamura Japan Hacksaw Ridge Mel Gibson United States, Australia The Journey Nick Hamm United Kingdom The Magnificent Seven Antoine Fuqua United States Monte Amir Naderi Italy, United States, France Never Ever À jamais Benoît Jacquot France, Portugal Planetarium Rebecca Zlotowski France, BelgiumTommasoKim Rossi StuartItalyThe Young Pope (series)Paolo SorrentinoItaly, France, Spain, United Kingdom, United StatesNon Fiction American Anarchist Charlie Siskel United States Assault to the Sky Assalto al cielo Francesco Munzi Italy Austerlitz Sergei Loznitsa Germany I Called Him Morgan Kasper Collin Sweden, United States One More Time With Feeling Andrew Dominik United Kingdom Our War La nostra guerra Bruno Chiaravalloti, Claudio Jampaglia and Benedetta Argentieri Italy, United States Safari Ulrich Seidl Austria, Denmark
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In Competition Big Big World Koca Dünya Reha Erdem Turkey Bitter Money 苦钱 Wang Bing Hong Kong Bluebeard Kékszakállú Gastón Solnicki Argentina Boys in the Trees Nicholas Verso Australia Dark Night Tim Sutton United States Dawson City: Frozen Time Bill Morrison France, United States The Eremites Die Einsiedler Ronny Trocker Austria, Germany The Fury of a Patient Man Tarde para la ira Raúl Arévalo Spain The Greatest Dream Il più grande sogno Michele Vannucci Italy Gukoroku - Traces of Sin Gukoroku Kei Ishikawa Japan Heal the Living Réparer les vivants Katell Quillévéré Belgium, France Home Fien Troch Belgium King of the Belgians Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth Belgium, Bulgaria, Netherlands Libera Nos Liberami Federica Di Giacomo Italy, France Malaria مالاریا Parviz Shahbazi Iran Saint GeorgeSão Jorge Marco Martins France, Portugal Shambles Maudite poutine Karl Lemieux Canada The Wedding Plan לעבור את הקיר Rama Burshtein Israel White Sun सेतो सुर्य Deepak Rauniyar Nepal, Netherlands, Qatar, United StatesShort films500,000 Years500,000 PeeChai SirisThailandAmalimboJuan Pablo LibossartSweden, EstoniaCe qui nous éloigneWei HuFranceColombiLuca FerriItalyDadyaa Bibhusan Basnet and Pooja GurungNepal, FranceFirst NightPrima NoapteAndrei TanaseRomania, GermanyGood Luck, Orlo!Srecno, Orlo!Sara KernSlovenia, Croatia, AustriaGood NewsGiovanni FumuSouth Korea, ItalyMidwinterJake MahaffyUnited States, New ZealandMolly BloomChiara CaselliItalyOn the Origin of FearBayu Prihantoro FilemonIndonesiaLe reste est l’oeuvre de l’hommeDoria AchourFrance, TunisiaRuahFlurin GigerSwitzerlandSamedi CinemaMamadou DiaSenegalStanza 52Maurizio BraucciItalyLa voz perdidaMarcelo MartinessiParaguay, Venezuela, Cuba
Venice Classics The following films were selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Restored classic films 1848 (1948) Dino Risi Italy An American Werewolf In London (1981) John Landis United Kingdom L'Argent (aka Money) (1983) L'argent Robert Bresson France, Switzerland The Battle of Algiers (1966) La battaglia di Algeri Gillo Pontecorvo Italy, Algeria The Brat (1931) John Ford United States Break Up (1965)|| data-sort-value="Uomo" | L'uomo dei cinque palloni Marco Ferreri Italy, France The City Stands Trial (1952) Processo alla città Luigi Zampa Italy Dark Eyes (1987) Oci ciornie Nikita Mikhalkov Italy, Soviet Union Dawn of the Dead (1978) George A. Romero United States, Italy Everybody Go Home (1960) Tutti a casa Luigi Comencini Italy, France The Great Sacrifice (1943) Opfergang Veit Harlan Germany Legend of the Mountain (1979) 山中傳奇 King Hu Taiwan, Hong Kong Manhattan (1979) Woody Allen United States Nights of Zayandeh Rood (1990) (Opening film) شبهای زاینده رود Mohsen Makhmalbaf Iran The Ondekoza (1981) ざ・鬼太鼓座 Tai Kato Japan Pretty Poison (1968) Noel Black United States Scent of a Woman (1974) Profumo di donna Dino Risi Italy Seven Samurai (1954) 七人の侍 Akira Kurosawa Japan Stalker (1979) Сталкер Andrei Tarkovsky Soviet Union The Thief of Paris (1967) Le Voleur Louis Malle France, Italy Twentieth Century (1934) Howard Hawks United StatesDocumentaries on cinemaAcqua e zucchero. Carlo Di Palma, i colori della vitaFariborz KamkariItalyAlong for the RideNick EbelingUnited StatesBozzetto non troppoMarco BonfantiItalyCinema FuturesMichael PalmAustriaThe Competition Le ConcoursClaire SimonFranceDavid Lynch: The Art LifeJon Nguyen, Olivia Neergaard-Holm and Rick BarnesUnited States, DenmarkE venne l’uomo – Un dialogo con Ermanno OlmiAlessandro BignamiItalyEvents in a Cloud ChamberAshim AhluwaliaIndiaPerché sono un genio! Lorenza MazzettiStefano Della Casa and Francesco FrisariItalyViaggio nel cinema in 3D. Una storia VintageJesus Garcès Lambert Biennale College - Cinema The following films were selected for the Biennale College - Cinema section.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Ears Orecchie Alessandro Aronadio Italy Hotel Salvation Mukti Bhawan Shubhashish Bhutiani India La Soledad Jorge Thielen Armand Venezuela One Sister Una Hermana Sofia Brockenshire and Verena Kuri Argentina
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:
Original Title Director(s) Production country Félicité Alain Gomis France, Senegal, Belgium Ghost Hunting Raed Andoni Palestine, France, Switzerland Obscure Soudade Kaadan Syria, Lebanon One of These Days Nadim Tabet Lebanon Poisonous Roses Fawzi Saleh Egypt, France, Qatar The Wound John Trengove South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, France
Il Cinema nel Giardino The following feature films were selected for the Il Cinema nel Giardino section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Franca: Chaos and Creation Francesco Carrozzini Italy, United States In Dubious Battle James Franco United States Inseparables Marcos Carnevale Argentina My Art Laurie Simmons United States The Net 그물 Kim Ki-Duk South Korea Robinù Michele Santoro Italy The Secret Life of Pets Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney United States Summertime L'estate addosso Gabriele Muccino Italy
Special screenings The following film was presented as a Special Screening of the Official Selection: Spes contra Spem: Liberi Dentro (documentary) by Ambrogio Crespi
Independent Sections International Critics' Week The following films were selected for the International Critics' Week section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition Days of France Jours de France Jérôme Reybaud France Drum طبل Keywan Karimi France, Iran The Last of Us Akher Wahed Fina Ala Eddine Slim Lebanon, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates The Last Things Le Ultime Cose Irene Dionisio France, Italy, Switzerland The Nobodies Los Nadie Juan Sebastián Mesa Colombia Prank Vincent Biron Canada Singing in the Graveyards Singing sa mga Dakong Libingan Bradley Liew Malaysia, Philippines Special Events - Out of competitionPrevenge (Opening film)Alice LoweUnited KingdomAre We Not Cats (Closing film)Xander RobinUnited States
Venice Days The following films were selected for the 13th edition of the Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) section: