The 61st annual

Venice International Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

was held between 1 and 11 September 2004. The festival opened with

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's ''

The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...

'', and closed with

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

's '' Steamboy''. The

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

was awarded to the film ''

Vera Drake ''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abor ...

'', directed by

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

. On this edition of the festival, a new independent section, Venice Days (''Giornate degli autori''), has started "for free cinema, new talents and new stories". This section is organized by the ANAC (National Association of Cinematographic Authors) and the API (Independent Authors & Producers). Also in this edition, ''The Secret History of Italian Cinema'' was launched, a new section of the official selection, with the aim of restoring and systematically rediscovering sides of the Italian cinema that have been "forgotten, invisible, unknown or misunderstood". The retrospective was planned for four years, which was extended by a two-year retrospective called '' These Phantoms: Italian Cinema Rediscovered'', followed by one edition of '' Italian Comedy Retrospective''. The

Fondazione Prada Fondazione Prada, co-chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli since 1995, is an institution dedicated to contemporary art and culture. From 1993 to 2010, the Fondazione has organised 24 solo shows at its exhibition spaces in Milan, conceiv ...

was the private sector partner of this series.

Juries

The following people comprised the 2004 juries: Main Competition (''Venezia 61'') *

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

(UK) Jury President * Wolfgang Becker (Germany) *

Mimmo Calopresti Mimmo Calopresti (born 4 January 1955 in Polistena, Calabria) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He has directed 16 films since 1987. His film ''The Second Time'' was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Sele ...

(Italy) *

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

(USA) *

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

(USA) *

Dusan Makavejev Dusan may refer to: * Dušan, a Slavic given name * Dusan, a son of Ra's al Ghul * Stefan Dušan (1308–1355), emperor of Serbia See also *Doosan Group Doosan Group () is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation. In 2009, the corp ...

(Serbia and Montenegro) *

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

(UK) *

Pietro Scalia Pietro Scalia (born March 17, 1960) is an Italian–American film editor. He won Best Film Editing at the 64th Academy Awards for his work on the film '' JFK'', sharing the award with Joe Hutshing, and at the 74th Academy Awards for '' Black ...

(Italy) *

Hsu Feng Hsu Feng (born 17 December 1950) is a Taiwanese-born actress and film producer. In the 1970s she was one of the leading actresses of the cinemas of Hong Kong and Taiwan, particularly known for her roles in wuxia films and her work with directo ...

(Taiwan) Horizons (''Orizzonti'') *

Nicolas Philibert Nicolas Philibert (; born 10 January 1951) is a French film director and actor. Biography Philibert's father was a film lecturer and he attended his talks in his youth. This encouraged him to embark on a film career. He started this with Ren� ...

(France) President *

Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...

(USA) *

Fiorella Infascelli Fiorella Infascelli (born 29 October 1952) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, Infascelli is the daughter of the producer and director Carlo. After working as an assistant director for notable director ...

(Italy) Venezia Cinema Digitale *

Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...

(UK) President * Shozo Ichiyama (Japan) * Claire Simon (Morocco-France)

Official selection

In competition

The main competitive section of the official selection is an international competition of feature films running for the

. :Highlighted title indicates the Golden Lion winner. † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.

Out of competition

The following films of the official selection were screened as "out of competition":

Horizons

A section aiming to provide a picture of the new trends in cinema. :Highlighted title indicates the Horizons Awards for Best Film. † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.

Short film competition

The following films, whose length does not exceed 30 minutes, were selected for the short film competition (Corto Cortissimo): :Highlighted title indicates Lion for Best Short Film winner.

Venetian Nights

The following films were screened for the Venetian Nights section (Venezia Mezzanotte): : † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.

Venice Digital Cinema

A section intended to provide an overview of the new expressive possibilities granted by digital technologies. : † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.

The Secret History of Italian Cinema 1

A new retrospective section on Italian Cinema aiming to restore and systematically rediscover sides of the Italian cinema That Have Been "Forgotten, Invisible, Unknown Or Misunderstood". This first edition of the retrospective is titled ''Italian Kings of the B's''.

Autonomous sections

Venice International Film Critics' Week

The following feature films were selected to be screened as ''In Competition'' for this section: : † indicates films that competed for the Lion of the Future.

Venice Days

The following films were selected for the 1st edition of Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori) autonomous section:

Awards

Official selection

The following Official Awards were conferred at the 61st edition: *

: ''

'' by

* Silver Lion for Best Director: '' 3-Iron'' by

Kim Ki-duk Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of ...

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

: ''

The Sea Inside ''The Sea Inside'' ( es, Mar adentro) is a 2004 Spain, Spanish psychological drama film co-written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who also co-produced, scored and edited. It is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro (played by Javie ...

'' (''Mar adentro'') by

Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born March 31, 1972) is a Spanish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goya Award for Best Director, Goyas—including a Goya Award for Best Director for his 2001 film ''The Othe ...

Volpi Cup for Best Actor The Volpi Cup for Best Actor ( it, Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile) is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film ...

Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopath, ...

for ''The Sea Inside'' *

Volpi Cup for Best Actress The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor o ...

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

for ''

'' *

Marcello Mastroianni Award The Marcello Mastroianni Award (Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian la ...

(for the best emerging actor or actress): Tommaso Ramenghi and Marco Luisi for '' Lavorare con lentezza'' *

Golden Osella The Golden Osella is the name of several awards given at the Venice Film Festival. They are awarded irregularly and in various categories such as directing, screenwriting, cinematography, and technical contributions. The name derives from the ''o ...

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

for ''

Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...

'' (''Hauru no ugoku shiro'') Special Awards * Special Lion for Overall Work:

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wo ...

and

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

Horizons awards (Premi Orizzonti) * Best Film: ''Les petits fils'' by Ilan Duran Cohen ::Special mention: ''Vento di terra'' by

Vincenzo Marra Vincenzo Marra (born Naples, 18 September 1972) is an Italian filmmaker. Filmography * 2001 - '' Tornando a casa'' * 2002 - '' E.A.M. - Estranei alla massa'' (documentary) * 2003 - '' Paesaggio a sud'' * 2004 - '' Vento di terra'' * 2005 - '' 58 ...

Digital Cinema Award * ''

20 Fingers 20 Fingers is the name of an American production team consisting of producers and DJs Carlos "Charlie Babie" Rosario, Manfred "Manny" Mohr, J.J. Flores and Onofrio Lollino. They were popular in the mid-1990s for producing a series of pop, dan ...

'' (''20 angosht'') by

Mania Akbari Mania Akbari ( fa, مانيا اکبری, born 22 September 1974Gianni Zanasi and

Lucio Pellegrini Lucio Pellegrini (born 20 October 1965) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Early life On 20 October 1965, Pellegrini was born in Asti, Italy. Career Pellegrini started his career in 1992 as a television writer, collaborating with RAI ...

Short Film awards (Corto Cortissimo Lion) * Citroen Short Super-Short Lion for Best Short Film: ''Signe d'appartenence'' by Kamel Cherif ::Special mention: ''The Carpenter and His Clumsy Wife'' by Peter Foot * UIP Prize for Best European Short Film: ''Goodbye'' by Steve Hudson

Autonomous sections

The following official and collateral awards were conferred to films of the autonomous sections: Venice International Film Critics' Week * Lion Of The Future : "Luigi de Laurentiis" Award For A Debut Film: ''

Le Grand Voyage ''Le Grand Voyage'' is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. The film won the Golden Astor for Best Film at the 2005 ...

'' by

Ismaël Ferroukhi Ismaël Ferroukhi (born 26 June 1962) is a French- Moroccan film director and screenwriter. Ferroukhi was born in Kenitra. He gained exposure with his 1992 short film ''L'Exposé'', which won the Kodak Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Foll ...

and

Humbert Balsan Humbert Jean René Balsan (21 August 1954 – 10 February 2005) was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005 ...

::Special Mention: '' Saimir'' by Francesco Munzi

Other collateral awards

The following collateral awards were conferred to films of the official selection: *FIPRESCI Prize: **Competition: '' Bin-jip'' (

) **Parallel Sections: '' Vento di terra'' (

) *SIGNIS Award: **'' Tout un hiver sans feu'' ( Greg Zglinski) **Honorable Mention: '' Bin-jip'' (

) *C.I.C.A.E. Award: **''

Gilles' Wife ''Gilles' Wife'' (french: La Femme de Gilles) is a 2004 drama film based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Madeleine Bourdouxhe. The film was directed by Frédéric Fonteyne and written by Fonteyne, Philippe Blasband and Marion Hänsel. It re ...

'' (

Frédéric Fonteyne Frédéric Fonteyne (; born 9 January 1968) is a Belgian film director. He studied film at the Institut des arts de diffusion in Louvain-la-Neuve. His 2020 film ''Working Girls (2020 film), Working Girls'' was selected as the Belgian entry for th ...

) *UNICEF Award: **'' Dom durakov'' (

Andrei Konchalovsky Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (russian: link=no, Андрей Сергеевич Михалков-Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian ...

) *UNESCO Award: **''

Land of Plenty ''Land of Plenty'' is a 2004 American drama film directed by Wim Wenders starring Michelle Williams and John Diehl. The title of the film comes from the song "The Land of Plenty" from the album '' Ten New Songs'', written by Leonard Cohen and ...

'' (

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

) *Pasinetti Award: **Best Film: '' Le chiavi di casa'' (

Gianni Amelio Gianni Amelio (born 20 January 1945) is an Italian film director. Early life Amelio was born in San Pietro di Magisano, province of Catanzaro, Calabria. His father moved to Argentina soon after his birth. He spent his youth and adolescence with ...

) **Best Actor: '' Le chiavi di casa'' (

Kim Rossi Stuart Kim Rossi Stuart (born 31 October 1969) is an Italian actor and director. Early life and career Rossi Stuart was born in Rome. His father, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Giacomo, was an actor of Italians, Italian and Scottish people, Scottish descent ( ...

) **Best Actress: '' 5x2'' (

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, also written Bruni-Tedeschi (; born 16 November 1964), is an Italian-French actress, screenwriter and film director. Her 2013 film, ''A Castle in Italy,'' was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. ...

) *Audience Award (Critics' Week): **'' To Take a Wife'' (

Ronit Elkabetz Ronit Elkabetz ( he, רונית אלקבץ; 27 November 1964 – 19 April 2016) was an Israeli actress, screenwriter and film director. She worked in both Israeli and French cinema. She won three Ophir Awards and received a total of seven nomin ...

and

Shlomi Elkabetz Shlomi Elkabetz ( he, שלומי אלקבץ; born 5 December 1972) is an Israeli actor, writer and director. He is known for playing Simon in HBO's ''Our Boys''. Early life Elkabetz mother was a hairdresser and his father was a postal employee. ...

) *Isvema Award: **'' To Take a Wife'' (

and

) *FEDIC Award: **'' Volevo solo dormirle addosso'' (

Eugenio Cappuccio Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...

) *Little Golden Lion: **'' Bin-jip'' (

) *Label Europa Cinemas: **''

Darwin's Nightmare ''Darwin's Nightmare'' is a 2004 Austrian-French-Belgian documentary film written and directed by Hubert Sauper, dealing with the environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It premiered at the 2004 ...

'' (

Hubert Sauper Hubert Sauper (born 27 July 1966) is an Austrian documentary filmmaker, director, writer, producer, and actor best known for the highly controversial ''Darwin's Nightmare'' (2004) which was nominated for an Academy Award. Sauper has lived in the ...

) *Young Cinema Award: **Best Italian Film: '' Nemmeno il destino'' (

Daniele Gaglianone Daniele Gaglianone is an Italian director. Biography Born in Ancona, Gaglianone has lived in Turin since the age of six. From 1989 to 2000 he realized a few shorts and documentary films. In 1998 he works as scenarist for the film '' Così ri ...

) **Best Digital Film: '' Un silenzio particolare'' (

Stefano Rulli Stefano Rulli (; born 3 October 1949) is an Italian screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with fellow screenwriter Sandro Petraglia, including '' La piovra'' (1987–1995) and ''The Best of Youth ''The Best of Youth'' ( it, La me ...

) **Best International Film: ''

Mar adentro ''The Sea Inside'' ( es, Mar adentro) is a 2004 Spanish psychological drama film co-written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who also co-produced, scored and edited. It is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro (played by Javier Bard ...

'' (

) *"Lino Miccichè" First Feature Award: **'' Nemmeno il destino'' (

) *Open Prize: **'' Sag-haye velgard'' ( Marzieh Makhmalbaf) *Lina Mangiacapre Award: **'' Melancholian 3 huonetta'' (

Pirjo Honkasalo Pirjo Irene Honkasalo (born 22 February 1947) is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In 1980 she co-directed ''Flame Top'' with Pekka Lehto, with whom she worked ea ...

) *Future Film Festival Digital Award: **''

Collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

'' (

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ' ...

) *Laterna Magica Prize: **'' Finding Neverland'' (

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films '' Monster's Ball'', '' Finding Neverland'', '' Stranger than Fiction'', ''The Kite Runner'', ''Quantum of Solace'', ''World War Z'', and ...

) *Sergio Trasatti Award: **'' Le chiavi di casa'' (

) *CinemAvvenire Award: **Best Film: '' Le chiavi di casa'' (

) **Best First Film: '' Tout un hiver sans feu'' ( Greg Zglinski) **Cinema for Peace Award: ''

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

'' (

Amos Gitai Amos Gitai ( he, עמוס גיתאי; born 11 October 1950) is an Israeli filmmaker, who was trained as an architect. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and L ...

) *Award of the City of Rome: **Best Film: '' Un mundo menos peor'' (

Alejandro Agresti Alejandro Agresti (born June 2, 1961, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film director, writer and producer. A prominent filmmaker in his country, he also directed ''The Lake House (film), The Lake House'' with Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood acto ...

) *International Peace Award: **Best Film: '' Jeruzalemski sindrom'' (

Jakov Sedlar Jakov Sedlar (born 6 November 1952) is a Croatian film director and producer. A former cultural attaché during the 1990s in the Franjo Tuđman government, his documentaries promote Croatian nationalist views through propaganda. His 2016 docu ...

) *Human Rights Film Network Award: **'' Melancholian 3 huonetta'' (

) *EIUC Award: **'' Yesterday'' (

Darrell Roodt Darrell James Roodt (born in Johannesburg, 28 April 1962) is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer. He is probably most well known for his 1992 film '' Sarafina!'' which starred actress Whoopi Goldberg. Also regarded as South ...

) **Special Mention: '' Melancholian 3 huonetta'' (

) *Special Director's Award: **'' Bin-jip'' (

) *Special Pasinetti Award: **'' Vento di terra'' (

) (For an innovative film)

References

External links

*
Venice Film Festival 2004 Awards
on IMDb {{Venice Film Festival

Ven Ven may refer to: Places * Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands * Ven (Sweden), an island * Ven, Tajikistan, a town * VEN or Venezuela Other uses * von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons'' * '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...

Venice Film Festival V V

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

September 2004 events in Europe