65th Venice International Film Festival
Festival poster | |
| Opening film | Burn After Reading |
|---|---|
| Location | Venice, Italy |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Awards | Golden Lion: The Wrestler |
| Hosted by | Kseniya Rappoport |
| Festival date | 27 August – 6 September 2008 |
| Website | Website |
The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 27 August 2008 to 6 September 2008, at Venice Lido in Italy. The festival was dedicated to the late Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders was the jury president for the main competition. Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport was the Host of the opening and closing ceremonies. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky.
Italian filmmaker Ermanno Olmi received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during the festival.
A restored version of Federico Fellini's 1952 comedy The White Sheik, with forty minutes of newly discovered footage. The record for the longest film at the festival was broken by Lav Diaz's Melancholia, with a running time of approximately seven and a half hours, which was included in the Orizzonti competition section.
The festival opened with Burn After Reading by Joel and Ethan Coen.