From the Lido to major international stars, from Italian masters to the Golden Lion: history, charm, and identity of the Venice International Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival
Every year comes a time when Venice changes face once again.
Boats cross the lagoon carrying actors, directors, producers and photographers. The targets of international television are being turned on. Some of the most famous personalities of world cinema parade on the red carpet and the Lido becomes, for a few days, one of the centers of international culture.
It is the Venice International Film Festival.
In 2026, the event returns from September 2nd to 12th with its 83rd edition, organized by the Venice Biennale.
But to consider the Exhibition simply a film festival would be an understatement.
Venice represents one of the places where cinema has built its history.
Before Cannes, before Berlin, and before the birth of many of the festivals now considered fundamental to the international film industry, there was already Venice.
The first Film Festival in history
We need to go back to 1932.
Cinema had already won millions of views, Hollywood was building its own myth, and Europe continued to be one of the great artistic laboratories of the new form of expression.
It was in this scenario that Venice decided to dedicate an international event to cinema.
The first edition of the International Film Festival took place from 6 to 21 August 1932 on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido.
There was still no real competition with a jury as we understand it today.
The aim was first and forever to present works from different cinemas to the public and to recognize the dignity of great artistic expression in cinema.
The first film shown was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Rouben Mamoulian.
It was the evening of August 6, 1932.
That screening marked the beginning of a story destined to transcend Italy’s borders.
Venice had invented the international film festival.
The Lido, the place where the myth is born
The choice of the Lido contributed significantly to the construction of the identity of the Exhibition.
Venice already possessed international fame linked to art, architecture, music and elite tourism.
The Lido added a different element.
It was one of the most elegant seaside resorts in Europe.
Large hotels, beaches, villas and cosmopolitan atmospheres had transformed the island into a destination frequented by the aristocracy and international high society.
Bringing cinema into this scenario meant creating something from the very beginning that went beyond simply showing films.
The festival became experience.
Venice and cinema were beginning to build an imaginary together.
Even today, the arrival of stars by water represents one of the most recognizable images of the Exhibition.
There are no cars that drive down a boulevard to reach the red carpet.
You arrive in Venice by boat.
And this is perhaps one of the details that makes the festival impossible to replicate elsewhere.
The Cinema Palace
The success of the first editions soon made clear the need for a space specifically dedicated to the event.
In 1937, the Cinema Palace was inaugurated on the Lido.
Since then this building has become the symbolic heart of the Exhibition.
The big premieres take place here, the artists come here, and many of the works destined to enter the international film season are presented here.
In front of the Palazzo del Cinema, the red carpet has over time become one of the most photographed locations of the festival.
But behind the flashes there is a much more complex job.
The Exhibition is first and foremost film selection, research, comparison between languages, discovery of new authors and recognition of the great masters.
The Golden Lion, one of the most prestigious awards in cinema
The symbol of Venice is the winged lion of St. Mark.
It was inevitable that it would also become the symbol of the most important recognition of the Exhibition.
The Golden Lion is awarded to the best film in competition and is now one of the most prestigious awards in international cinema.
Receiving it means entering a story that includes some of the most important directors and films in world cinema.
Alongside the Golden Lion, other awards are given, including the Silver Lion and the Volpi Cup for performances.
There is also the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, awarded to personalities who have left a profound mark on the history of cinema.
But the value of Venice is not measured only through prizes.
For many films, being selected for the Festival means starting from here an international journey that can continue at festivals, in theaters, and during the season of major film awards.
Italy meets Hollywood
One of the elements that made Venice unique is the ability to connect seemingly distant worlds.
On the one hand the great European film tradition.
On the other Hollywood.
Over the decades, the Lido has welcomed directors, actors, and divas who have built the history of international entertainment.
But Venice has never been just a catwalk for celebrities.
Here, American cinema has engaged in dialogue with Italian neorealism, Asian cinema, great European authors, and directors from countries that have often found international visibility through festivals.
This ability to meet still represents one of the great forces of the Exhibition today.
Italian cinema and Venice
For Italy, of course, the relationship with Venice takes on an even deeper meaning.
The history of the Exhibition goes through some of the most important seasons of our cinema.
Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Vittorio De Sica, and many other protagonists of Italian cinematic culture helped build a period in which our country’s cinema was observed by the entire world.
Subsequently, other generations of authors continued to bring stories, languages, and interpretations of contemporary Italy to the Lido.
Venice has thus become a great international showcase, but also a place where Italian cinema continually measures its ability to engage with the rest of the world.
The city becomes a gigantic set
During the days of the Exhibition, something special happens.
Cinema comes out of theaters.
Enter vaporetti, hotels, restaurants and conversations.
Photographers and journalists await arrivals at the landing stages.
Fans try to attend the premieres.
In just a few hours, images of the stars spread across television, newspapers, and social networks around the world. And Venice becomes part of the show.
The city is not simply the backdrop to the demonstration.
He is one of its protagonists.
A photograph of an actor on a speedboat with the lagoon behind him immediately depicts Venice without the need for any caption.
It is this fusion of place and event that has built one of the most effective examples of Italian cultural and territorial promotion.
Fashion and cinema on the red carpet
Then there is another story that inevitably accompanies the Exhibition every year. The one about fashion.
The clothes worn on the red carpet become part of the international communication of the event.
Italian and international houses dress actors and personalities, while jewelry, tailoring, beauty, and design enter the media narrative.
For Italy it represents an extraordinary showcase.
Cinema and fashion in fact share a fundamental characteristic: both construct imaginaries.
On the Venetian red carpet, Made in Italy thus finds one of its most powerful international stages. Venice beyond the red carpet
However, it would be a mistake to tell the story of the Exhibition only through the clothes and celebrities.
The true heart of the event remains cinema.
During the festival, works from numerous countries are presented, established authors and new talents are met, languages are experimented with, and the major themes of the present are addressed.
Cinema retains here its capacity to be both industry and art.
Show and research.
Entertainment and a tool for interpreting society.
It is this balance that has allowed the Exhibition to go through almost a century of history.
A story also crossed by crises
The path of the Exhibition was not linear.
The event spanned fascism, the Second World War, the political and cultural transformations of the post-war period, and the protests of the late 1960s.
At times the competition was suspended and no prizes were awarded for several years.
But Venice managed to reinvent itself.
The modern festival is also the result of this ability to adapt.
Each generation has found a different cinema at the Lido.
Technology has changed. Production methods have changed. The platforms through which we watch movies have changed.
But the need to meet in front of a cinematic work remained.
L’83rd Film Festival
From 2 to 12 September 2026, the Lido will once again host the ’83rd International Film Festival.
Once again Venice will become a meeting point between Italian and international cinema.
There will be expected films, new authors, great performers, press conferences, meetings and of course the red carpet.
For a few days the eyes of the world will look back towards the lagoon.
But something much more important will remain behind the spectacular dimension.
A story that began in 1932.
Almost a century of cinema.
Venice, an Italian tradition that has become international
The Film Festival perfectly represents one of the most fascinating features of Italy.
The ability to utilize extraordinary historical heritage without necessarily transforming it into something immovable. Venice is a very ancient city.
Cinema is a modern language. Their meeting has generated a new tradition, capable of becoming history. This is perhaps the true meaning of the Exhibition.
Not just celebrating cinema. But demonstrate how Italy can continue to be a place where culture, creativity, beauty, and industry meet.
Every September the ritual begins again. Boats arrive at the Lido. The rooms fill up.
The lights come on. The red carpet awaits its protagonists.
And for a few days Venice returns to being what it has been so many times throughout its history.
An Italian window open to the world.