The 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017, at Venice Lido in Italy.
American actress Annette Bening was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actor Alessandro Borghi hosted the opening and closing nights of the festival. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro.
A new section for virtual-reality (VR) films was introduced in this edition of the festival, as part of the Official Selection. 22 films were selected for the first-ever competition for films made in VR, while several more were presented in out-of-competition subsections.
The festival opened with Downsizing by Alexander Payne, and closed with Outrage Coda by Takeshi Kitano.
Juries Main Competition (Venezia 74) Annette Bening, American actress - Jury President Ildikó Enyedi, Hungarian filmmaker Michel Franco, Mexican filmmaker and producer Rebecca Hall, English actress Anna Mouglalis, French actress David Stratton, Anglo-Australian film critic Jasmine Trinca, Italian actress Edgar Wright, English filmmaker Yonfan, Taiwanese-Hong Kong filmmaker and producer
Orizzonti Gianni Amelio, Italian filmmaker - Jury President Rakhshān Banietemad, Iranian filmmaker Mark Cousins, Irish-Scottish filmmaker and curator Andrés Duprat, Argentinian screenwriter, architect and artistic curator Ami Canaan Mann, American filmmaker Fien Troch, Belgian filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski, French filmmaker
Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film Benoît Jacquot, French filmmaker - Jury President Geoff Andrew, British writer and lecturer on film Albert Lee, Hong Kong producer Greta Scarano, Italian television, stage and film actress Yorgos Zois, Greek director
Venice Classics Giuseppe Piccioni, Italian filmmaker - Jury President 26 students of Cinema History
Venice Virtual Reality John Landis, American filmmaker, actor and producer - Jury President Céline Sciamma, French filmmaker Ricky Tognazzi, Italian actor and filmmaker
Official Sections In Competition The following films were selected for the main competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Angels Wear White 嘉年华 Vivian Qu China, France Custody Jusqu'à la garde Xavier Legrand France Downsizing (opening film) Alexander Payne United States Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman A Family Una famiglia Sebastiano RisoItaly First Reformed Paul Schrader United States Foxtrot פוֹקְסטְרוֹט Samuel Maoz Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland Hannah Andrea Pallaoro Italy, Belgium, France The House by the Sea La villa Robert Guédiguian France Human Flow Ai Weiwei Germany The Insult قضية رقم ٢٣ Ziad Doueiri France, Lebanon Lean on Pete Andrew Haigh United Kingdom The Leisure Seeker Paolo Virzì Italy, France Love and Bullets Ammore e malavita Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti Italy Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno Abdellatif Kechiche France, Italy Mother! Darren Aronofsky United States The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro United States Suburbicon George Clooney United States Sweet Country Warwick Thornton Australia The Third Murder 三度目の殺人 Hirokazu Kore-edaJapan Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Martin McDonagh United Kingdom Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Fiction Brawl in Cell Block 99 S. Craig Zahler United StatesIl colore nascosto delle coseSilvio SoldiniItaly Diva! Francesco Patierno Loving Pablo Fernando León de Aranoa Spain, Bulgaria Manhunt 追捕 John Woo Hong Kong, China Orchestra Class La mélodieRachid HamiFrance Mr Rotpeter Il signor Rotpeter Antonietta De Lillo Italy Our Souls at Night Ritesh Batra United States Outrage Coda (closing film)アウトレイジ 最終章 Takeshi Kitano Japan An Imperfect MurderThe Private Life of a Modern Woman James Toback United States Racer and the Jailbird Le Fidèle Michaël R. Roskam Belgium, France, Netherlands Victoria & Abdul Stephen Frears United Kingdom Wormwood (miniseries) Errol Morris United States Zama Lucrecia Martel Argentina, BrazilNon FictionCuba and the CameramanJon AlpertUnited StatesThe Devil and Father AmorthWilliam FriedkinHappy WinterBuon invernoGiovanni TotaroItalyJim & Andy: The Great Beyond Chris SmithUnited States, CanadaMy GenerationDavid BattyUnited KingdomPiazza VittorioAbel FerraraItalyRyuichi Sakamoto: CodaStephen Nomura SchibleUnited States, JapanThis Is CongoDaniel McCabeDemocratic Republic of the CongoSpecial EventsCasa d’altriGianni AmelioItalyMichael Jackson’s Thriller 3DJohn LandisUnited StatesMaking of Michael Jackson’s ThrillerJerry Kramer
Orizzonti The following films were selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In CompetitionThe BlessedLes BienheureuxSofia DjamaFrance, Belgium Caniba Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor France Cinderella the Cat Gatta Cenerentola Alessandro Rak, Ivan Cappiello, Marino Guarnieri and Dario Sansone Italy The Cousin הבן דוד Tzahi Grad Israel Disappearance ناپدید شدن Ali Asgari Iran, Qatar Endangered Species Espèces menacéesGilles BourdosFrance, Belgium Invisible Pablo Giorgelli Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, France Krieg Rick Ostermann Germany Nico, 1988 Susanna Nicchiarelli Italy, Belgium The Night I Swam 泳ぎすぎた夜 Damien Manivel and Igarashi Kohei France, Japan No Date, No Signature بدون تاریخ، بدون امضاء Vahid Jalilvand Iran Oblivion Verses Los Versos del Olvido Alireza Khatami France, Germany, Netherlands, Chile The Rape of Recy Taylor Nancy Buirski United States Reinventing Marvin Marvin ou la belle éducation Anne Fontaine France The Testament העדות Amichai Greenberg Israel, Austria Ugly Nasty People Brutti e cattivi Cosimo Gomez Italy, France Under the Tree Undir trénu Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany La Vita in Comune Edoardo Winspeare Italy West of Sunshine Jason Raftopoulos AustraliaShort Films CompetitionAriaMyrsini AristidouCyprus, FranceAstrometalEfthimis Kosemund SanidisGreeceBy the PoolLaurynas BareišaLithuaniaDeath Of The Sound ManAwasarn Sound ManSorayos PrapapanThailand, MyanmarGros ChagrinCéline DevauxFranceHiminn OpinnGabriel Sanson, Clyde GatesBelgiumIt’s Easier to Raise CattleLagi senang jaga sekandang lembuAmanda Nell EuMalaysiaThe Knife SalesmanMichael Leonard and Jamie HelmerAustraliaMeninas FormicidaJoão Paulo Miranda MaríaFrance, BrazilMon Amour, Mon AmiAdriano ValerioItalyThe Shadow of the BrideL’ombra della sposaAlessandra PescettaItalyTierra MojadaJuan Sebastián Mesa BedoyaColombiaShort films - Out of Competition8th ContinentYorgos ZoisGreeceFuturo prossimoSalvatore MereuItaly
Venice Classics The following films were selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Restored films 1900 (1976) Novecento Bernardo Bertolucci Italy The Ape Woman (1964) La donna scimmia Marco Ferreri Italy, France Batch '81 (1982) Alpha Kappa Omega Batch '81 Mike De Leon Philippines Black Peter (1963) Černý Petr Miloš Forman Czechoslovakia Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Steven Spielberg United States Come and See (1985) Иди и смотри Elem Klimov Soviet UnionCousin, Cousine (1987)Jean RouchFrance The Crucified Lovers (1954) 近松物語 Kenji MizoguchiJapanDaïnah la métisse (1931)Jean GrémillonFrance The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) お茶漬けの味 Yasujirō Ozu Japan El Haimoune (1984) الهائمون Nacer Khemir Tunisia, France Into the Night (1985) John Landis United States The Old Dark House (1932) James Whale Red Desert (1964) Il deserto rosso Michelangelo Antonioni Italy The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) Raoul Walsh United States Rosita (1923) Ernst Lubitsch Sansho the Bailiff (1954) 山椒大夫 Kenji Mizoguchi Japan The Third Lover (1962) L'Œil du malinClaude ChabrolFrance Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1967) Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle Jean-Luc Godard Under the Olive Tree (1950) Non c’è pace tra gli ulivi Giuseppe De Santis Italy Zero for Conduct (1933) Zéro de conduite Jean Vigo FranceDocumentaries on cinemaDangerous But NecessaryLa Lucida Follia Di Marco FerreriAnselma Dell’OlioItaly, FranceEvviva GiuseppeStefano ConsiglioSwitzerland, ItalyLight YearsAños LuzManuel AbramovichArgentina, Brazil, SpainL’enigma di Jean Rouch a Torino - Cronaca di un film ratéMarco Di Castri, Paolo Favaro, Daniele PianciolaItaly, FranceThe Russian Revolution Through Its FilmsL’utopie des images de la Révolution RusseEmmanuel HamonFranceThe Prince and the DybbukElwira Niewiera, Piotr RosołowskiPoland, GermanyThis Is The War Room!Boris Hars-TschachotinGermanyLa Voce Di FantozziMario SestiItaly Biennale College - Cinema The following films were selected for the Biennale College - Cinema section.
Title Director(s) Production Country Beautiful Things Giorgio Ferrero Italy Martyr Mazen Khaled Lebanon Strange Colours Alena Lodkina Australia
Il Cinema nel Giardino The following films were selected for the Il Cinema nel Giardino section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Controfigura Rä di MartinoItaly, France, Switzerland, Morocco Manuel Dario AlbertiniItaly Nato a Casal di Principe Bruno OlivieroItaly, Spain Suburra: Blood on Rome Suburra - La serie Michele Placido, Andrea Molaioli and Giuseppe CapotondiItaly Above the Law Tueurs François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens Belgium, France Woodshock Kate and Laura Mulleavy United States
Special Screenings The following films were presented as Special screening of the Official Selection:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Barbiana '65: La lezione di Don Milani Alessandro G.A. D’AlessandroItaly The Electric Horseman (1979) Sydney Pollack United States Lievito madre: Le ragazze del secolo scorso Concita De Gregorio, Esmeralda CalabriaItaly La lunga strada del ritorno (1962) Alessandro Blasetti The Order of Things L’ordine delle cose Andrea Segre Italy, France
Independent Sections Venice International Critics' Week The following films were selected for the 32nd Venice International Critics' Week:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country In competition Crater Il Cratere Luca Bellino and Silvia Luzi Italy Drift Helena Wittmann Germany The Gulf Körfez Emre Yeksan Turkey, Germany, Greece Hunting Season Temporada de caza Natalia Garagiola Argentina, United States, Germany, France, Qatar Sarah Plays a Werewolf Sarah joue un loup garou Katharina Wyss Switzerland, Germany Team Hurricane Annika Berg Denmark The Wild Boys Les garçons sauvages Bertrand Mandico FranceSpecial Events - Out of competitionPin Cushion (Opening film)Deborah HaywoodUnited Kingdom (Closing film)VelenoDiego OlivaresItalySIC@SIC 2017 (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica)AdavedeAlain ParroniItalyTwoDueRiccardo GiacconiGhosts of YesterdayLes fantômes de la veilleManuel BilliThe LegionnaireIl legionarioHleb PapouMeanMindsMalaMèntiFrancesco Di LevaLittle Italian GirlsPiccole italianeLetizia LamartireVisiting DayLe visiteElio Di PaceSIC@SIC 2017 (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica) - Special EventsNausicaa - The Other Odyssey (Opening Short Film)Nausicaa L'altra odisseaBepi VignaItalyThe Last Miracle (Closing Short Film)L’ultimo miracolo' Enrico Pau
Giornate degli Autori The following films were selected for the 14th edition of the Giornate degli Autori section: