Silver Lions of the Venice Film Festival

Held annually in August or September on the Lido Island in Venice, Italy, the Venice Film Festival is one of the more famous film festivals in the world. This year, the 66th Venice Film Festival will start on September 2, 2009. In this festival, the top award is the Golden Lion, but we will be focusing on the Silver Lion, which is generally regarded as the second top award.

Unlike the Golden Lion which is awarded every year, the Silver Lion is awarded rather sporadically. In fact, the condition for winning the Silver Lion is not all that clear. Other than being a consolation prize for some outstanding films which have lost out to other more outstanding films in the quest for the Golden Lion, the Silver Lion has also been presented for extraordinary direction, first films as well as short films.

Perhaps, the best way to understand more about the Silver Lions is to look at the winners. Initially, the Silver Lion was awarded to films which were nominated for the Golden Lion, but failed to win. From 1953 to 1957, some of the more notable Silver Lion winners were Moulin Rogue (John Huston), I vitelloni (Federico Fellini), On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan), Seven Samurais (Akira Kurosawa), Ciske de Rat (Wolfgang Staudte), and Le notti bianche (Luchino Visconti). After 1957, the Silver Lion disappeared until 1966, when Conrad Rooks won for Chappaqua.

Then, the Silver Lion wasn't awarded until 1983 to 1987 when it was presented to the most outstanding film by a first-time director. In 1983, Euzhan Palcy won for Sugar Cane Alley and Kjell Grede won for Hip hip hurra!, in 1987. From 1988 to 1994, the Silver Lion was again awarded to nominated films that lost out to Golden Lion winners. Some of these films were Death of a Tea Master (Kei Kumai), Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou), The Fisher King (Terry Gilliam), and Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson). In 1990, the Silver Lion was awarded for best screenplay for one time to Helle Ryslinge for Sirup. It was also presented for best short film from 1999 to 2007 and best direction from 1990 to 2008. In 2006, there was one special Silver Lion awarded for revelation to Emanuele Crialese for Nuovomondo.

All in all, the Silver Lion is a rather ambiguous award. What's not the least ambiguous is the fact that you can surely get instant cash for silver when you are ready to sell silver. Hurry and get in touch with a trusted silver buyer today!