The Queer Lion is the trophy awarded yearly since 2007 to the “Best Movie with LGBT Themes & Queer Culture” among those presented during the Venice International Film Festival.[1]

The first Queer Lion, awarded to The Speed of Life in 2007
The Queer Lion award at the 75th Venice Film Festival

History

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The idea of the Queer Lion comes from a 2003 interview, made by president of CinemArte association Daniel N. Casagrande for monthly magazine Venezia News, to then-Director of the Venice Film Festival Moritz de Hadeln. During the interview, Casagrande asked de Hadeln if the Venice Film Festival would have welcomed an award meant to specifically honor gay-themed movies, the same way Berlin International Film Festival had done 20 years earlier (with Teddy Bear Award). Although the answer was a positive one, the changing of the Festival’s director the following year caused a delay in the development of the project, which was greenlighted by the new director Marco Müller, who declared his will to back and sustain the creation of such a new collateral award.

All the movies containing LGBTQ themes, stories, plots, or characters, presented in any of the sections of the Venice Film Festival are considered eligible for the award. Specifically, these sections are: Concorso (Competition), Fuori Concorso (Out of Competition), Orizzonti (Horizons), Controcampo italiano (Italian Reverse Shot), Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days), and Settimana Internazionale della Critica (International Critics' Week).

The Queer Lion jury, composed of journalists, directors, critics, and other persons with a deep knowledge of cinema, views all the movies deemed to contain noteworthy LGBTQ elements during the Venice Film Festival, picking the "best film" among them.

Winners

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Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Ref
2000s
2007 The Speed of Life Edward Radtke United States [2]
2008 One Day in a Life Un Altro Pianeta Stefano Tummolini Italy [3]
2009 A Single Man Tom Ford United States [4]
2010s
2010 In the Future En el Futuro Mauro Andrizzi Argentina [5]
2011 Wilde Salomé Al Pacino United States [6]
2012 The Weight 무게 Jeon Kyu-hwan South Korea [7]
2013 Philomena Stephen Frears United Kingdom [8]
2014 Summer Nights Les Nuits d'été Mario Fanfani France [1]
2015 The Danish Girl Tom Hooper United States [9]
2016 Heartstone Hjartasteinn Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson Iceland [1]
2017 Reinventing Marvin Marvin ou la belle éducation Anne Fontaine France [1]
2018 José Cheng Li Guatemala, United States [10]
2019 The Prince El Principe Sebastián Muñoz Chile [11]
2020s
2020 The World to Come Mona Fastvold United States [12]
2021 The Last Chapter La dernière séance Gianluca Matarrese Italy, France [13]
2022 Skin Deep Aus meiner Haut Alex Schaad Germany [14]
2023 Housekeeping for Beginners Домаќинство за почетници Goran Stolevski Poland, Serbia, Australia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, United States [15]
2024 Soul of the Desert Alma del Desierto Mónica Taboada-Tapia Colombia, Brazil [16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d David Opie, "Venice Film Festival: A Guide To Every Queer Lion Award Winner So Far". Into, August 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "iW NEWS | Venice Fest Showcases Special Lions". IndieWire, 10 September 2007.
  3. ^ Ronnie Scheib, "One Day in a Life". Variety, 23 September 2008.
  4. ^ Michael Jensen, "Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” wins Queer Lion at Venice Film Festival while Colin Firth named Best Actor. Watch Trailer". NewNowNext, 13 September 2009.
  5. ^ Eric J. Lyman, "'In the Future' wins Venice's Queer Lion". The Hollywood Reporter, 10 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Al Pacino's 'Wilde Salome' Wins Fifth Queer Lion In Venice". On Top, 11 September 2011.
  7. ^ Eric J. Lyman, "Venice 2012: Korean Film 'The Weight' Wins Queer Lion Prize". The Hollywood Reporter, 7 September 2012.
  8. ^ Eric J. Lyman, "Stephen Frears' 'Philomena' Wins Venice Queer Lion Prize as Fest Unveils First Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, 6 September 2013.
  9. ^ Itay Hod, "Eddie Redmayne’s ‘The Danish Girl’ Wins Venice’s Queer Lion Award as Oscar Buzz Mounts". TheWrap, 11 September 2015.
  10. ^ Gary Goldstein, "Review: ‘José’ explores a gay love story in Guatemala amid an age of uncertainty". Los Angeles Times, 6 February 2020.
  11. ^ Boyd van Hoeij, "'The Prince' ('El principe'): Film Review | Venice 2019". The Hollywood Reporter, 10 September 2019.
  12. ^ Steve Pond, "‘Nomadland’ Wins Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival". TheWrap, 12 September 2020.
  13. ^ Davide Abbatescianni, "The 78th Venice Film Festival announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 11 September 2021.
  14. ^ Davide Abbatescianni, "The 79th Venice Film Festival announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 10 September 2022.
  15. ^ Davide Abbatescianni, "Venice announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 9 September 2023.
  16. ^ Federico Boni (6 September 2024). "Alma del Desierto vince il Queer Lion 2024. In trionfo Georgina, donna Wayúu transgender simbolo di resistenza e speranza". Gay.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 September 2024.
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