The festival became an annual event beginning in 1935, helping establish Venice as a permanent center of international cinema. Over the decades, it developed into one of the most influential film festivals in the world. The most famous award presented at Venice is the Golden Lion (Leone d’Oro). It is awarded to the best film in the festival’s main competition and is regarded as one of the major prizes in international cinema.
Over the years, the Golden Lion has been awarded to films from many different countries and to directors with very different artistic styles. Past winners include Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa, The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, Roma by Alfonso Cuarón, Joker by Todd Phillips, Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, and The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar.
