MAIN Arts & Culture Movies 2012 Venice Film Festival

One of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world - the Venice Film Festival annually features international debuts of avant garde films competing with new Hollywood blockbusters vying for attention.

The full official lineup of this year's nominees will be announced in late July, when almost two dozen films in the festival's official competition are unveiled.

Although official dates have yet to be announced, it is anticipated that the 69th annual Venice Film Festival will kick off at Wednesday, August 29 and run through Sunday, September 9, 2012 when the complete group of winners are announced.

All about the Venice Film Festival

Now heading into its 7th decade, the Venice Film Festival has changed markedly over the recent past - growing from a strictly European lineup to featuring a varied and outstanding international venue.

This effectively makes the festival one of the earliest predictors of winners for other film top awards worldwide, including leading Hollywood contenders at the Oscars.

The principal awards in Venice are the Leone d'Oro (Golden Lion), which is awarded for best film, and the Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup) for best actor and actress.

Venice Film Festival on the Web

Around the Web, check out top sites with the latest buzz about this year's festival with information on the film program & related events, picture galleries, film clips, and a list of major Venice Film Festival entries and winners ....

La Biennale di Venezia - The official site in English & Italian, featuring the latest news, special events, all-star photo gallery, press & media information, ticket information, film festival history.

IndieWIRE - Catch the latest Venice Film Festival buzz & rumors, predictions, photos & news features as awards season draws near.

Venice Film Festival - Wikipedia guide with a brief history & overview, lists of winners by year dating back to 1932, related links.

Venice International Film Festival - Venice for Visitors - Nice overview with related history & information on the traditional venue, plus insider tips & advice on traveling to the festival on the Lido, including maps, links.

2011 Venice Film Festival Lineup & * Winners

* ALEKSANDER SOKUROV - FAUST - Russia - GOLDEN LIION WINNER
Johannes Zeiler, Anton Adasinskiy, Isolda Dychauk, Hanna Schygulla

* STEVE MCQUEEN - SHAME - United Kingdom BEST ACTOR Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge, Nicole Beharie

* ANN HUI - TAOJIE (A SIMPLE LIFE) - Hong Kong-China BEST ACTRESS Deanie Yip
Andy Lau, Deanie Yip, Anthony Wong, Tsui Hark

* CAI SHANGJUN - PEOPLE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE SEA - Hong Kong-China BEST DIRECTOR
Chen Jianbin, Tao Hong, Wu Xiubo

* ANDREA ARNOLD - WUTHERING HEIGHTS - UK - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley, Steve Evets, Oliver Milburn

* YORGOS LANTHIMOS - ALPEIS (ALPS) - Greece - BEST SCREENPLAY
Ariane Labed, Aggeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Vekris

* EMANUELE CRIALESE - TERRAFERMA - Italy, France - SPECIAL JURY AWARD
Filippo Pucillo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Giuseppe Fiorello, Claudio Santamaria

TOMAS ALFREDSON - TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY - UK, Germany
Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt

AMI CANAAN MANN - TEXAS KILLING FIELDS - USA
Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

GEORGE CLOONEY - THE IDES OF MARCH [OPENING FILM] - USA
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

CRISTINA COMENCINI - QUANDO LA NOTTE - Italy
Claudia Pandolfi, Filippo Timi, Michela Cescon, Thomas Trabacchi

DAVID CRONENBERG - A DANGEROUS METHOD - Germany, Canada
Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel

ABEL FERRARA - 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH - USA
Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh, Paz de la Huerta, Natasha Lyonne

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN - KILLER JOE - USA
Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon

PHILIPPE GARREL - UN ÉTÉ BRULANT - France, Italy, Switzerland
Monica Bellucci, Louis Garrel, Céline Sallette, Jérôme Robart

ERAN KOLIRIN - HAHITHALFUT (THE EXCHANGE) - Israel, Germany
Rotem Keinan, Sharon Tal, Dov Navon, Shirili Deshe

GIAN ALFONSO PACINOTTI [GIPI] - L'ULTIMO TERRESTRE - Italy
Gabriele Spinelli, Anna Bellato, Roberto Herlitzka, Teco Celio

ROMAN POLANSKI - CARNAGE France, Germany, Spain, Poland
Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly

MARJANE SATRAPI, VINCENT PARONNAUD - POULET AUX PRUNES - France, Belgium, Germany
Mathieu Amalric, Maria De Medeiros, Golshifteh Farahani, Isabella Rossellini, Chiara Mastroianni

TODD SOLONDZ - DARK HORSE - USA
Mia Farrow, Christopher Walken, Justin Bartha, Selma Blair

SION SONO - HIMIZU - Japan
Shôta Sometani, Fumi Nikaidô, Tetsu Watanabe, Mitsuru Fukikoshi

TE-SHENG WEI - SEEDIQ BALE - China, Taiwan
Da-Ching, Umin Boya, Landy Wen, Lo Mei-ling

also see -> Golden Globes | Cannes | Oscars | BAFTA Awards

Sundance Film Festival | Tribeca Film Festival

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