Venice Guide and Boat
The Venice Film Festival: A Complete Visitor’s Guide to the World’s Oldest Film Festival
Every year in late August and early September, Venice — which for the preceding weeks has been managing the logistical and human pressures of peak tourist season — undergoes a transformation. The focus of the city shifts southward to the Lido, the long barrier island that separates the lagoon from the Adriatic. The Palazzo del Cinema, a white Art Deco building on the Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, fills with directors, producers, distributors and journalists from every country on earth. The red carpet is unrolled. The cameras appear. And for twelve days, Venice becomes the capital of world cinema.
The Venice Film Festival — the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica, to give it its full name — is the oldest film festival in the world. It was established in 1932 by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata and director Antonio Maraini as part of the Venice Biennale, making it eleven years older than Cannes and fourteen years older than Berlin. In its nine decades of existence it has premiered some of the most important films in cinema history, launched careers, awarded its Golden Lion to works that have since been recognised as defining achievements of their era, and maintained its position as one of the three major film festival destinations alongside Cannes and Toronto.
For the visitor to Venice who happens to be present in late August or early September, the Film Festival creates a genuinely unusual opportunity: to be in the same city, at the same moment, as the world’s most significant annual gathering of the film industry. This guide explains what the Festival involves, how to experience it as a visitor without industry accreditation, where to stay and what to do on the Lido, and how the Festival changes the character of Venice itself during its twelve days.
The History: Nine Decades of Cinema
The first Venice Film Festival was held in 1932 as part of the second Venice Biennale, in the gardens of the Hotel Excelsior on the Lido. There were no competitive awards at this first edition — films were screened, and the audience voted for their favourites. The winner was Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Golden Lion award was introduced in its current form in 1949.
The Festival’s history has not been without controversy. During the Fascist period (1932–1943), the awards were influenced by political considerations — the Axis powers received a disproportionate number of prizes, and American films were excluded in the later years of the war. The Festival was suspended during the war and resumed in 1946. In 1968, student protests disrupted the Festival so severely that no awards were given that year — the only time in the Festival’s history. In 1973, the competitive section was temporarily abolished.
Despite these disruptions, the Festival has maintained its position as the most prestigious showcase for art cinema in the world. Its Venice setting — the combination of the Lido’s faded glamour, the lagoon light, the proximity of one of the world’s greatest cities — gives it a quality of atmosphere that Cannes, with its more overtly commercial character, and Berlin, with its political seriousness, cannot quite replicate. Venice is, cinematically speaking, the most romantic of the three major festivals.
| The Venice Film Festival has premiered films that subsequently became among the most celebrated in cinema history: Citizen Kane had its European premiere at Venice in 1941. Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961) won the Golden Lion. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick) premiered here in 1971. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee) won the Golden Lion in 2005. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos), First Man (Damien Chazelle) and Joker (Todd Phillips) all premiered at Venice before their Oscar campaigns. The Festival has an exceptional record of identifying significant cinema before the mainstream recognises it. |
The Awards: What the Golden Lion Means
The principal award of the Venice Film Festival is the Golden Lion (Leone d’Oro) for Best Film. Awarded by an international jury that changes each year, the Golden Lion is one of the three most prestigious awards in film alongside the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Golden Bear at Berlin — and of the three, Venice’s is generally considered to have the strongest record of recognising formally innovative and thematically ambitious work rather than broadly accessible cinema.
The Silver Lion is awarded to the runner-up, with additional Silver Lions for direction, acting (male and female leads) and screenplay. The Grand Jury Prize and the Special Jury Prize fill out the main award landscape. The Orizzonti (Horizons) section has its own set of awards for more experimental and independent work.
The Festival Programme: What’s Shown and Where
The Venice Film Festival comprises several distinct sections, each with its own curatorial identity and audience:
- Venezia (Venice Competition) — the main competitive section, typically 20–23 films in contention for the major awards. These are the films most likely to appear in the international press and most likely to be seen as Oscar contenders in the months following the Festival.
- Orizzonti (Horizons) — a parallel competition for more experimental, formally innovative and internationally diverse cinema. Orizzonti has a strong track record of discovering directors who later achieve broader recognition.
- Venezia Fuori Concorso (Out of Competition) — major films presented outside the competition format; often includes studio films seeking prestige without the competitive exposure, documentaries and restored classics.
- Venice Classics — a dedicated section for restored classic films and documentaries about cinema history; one of the most rewarding sections for serious film lovers.
- Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days) — an independently curated sidebar focused on independent and emerging cinema; one of the most adventurous sections of the Festival.
- SIC (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) — the Critics’ Week, devoted to first and second features by new directors; historically a strong platform for discoveries.
- Biennale College Cinema — a development programme for micro-budget features that premieres the resulting films at the Festival.
The Lido: Venice’s Festival Island
The Venice Film Festival takes place almost entirely on the Lido — the long, narrow barrier island that separates the Venice Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. The Lido is accessible from the historic centre by vaporetto (a 25-minute journey on Line 5.1 or 5.2), by water taxi (faster and more comfortable) or, during the Festival period, by festival shuttle boat.
The Lido is a different Venice from the historic centre — a linear island with streets laid out on a grid, lined with the Art Nouveau and Art Deco hotels and villas that made it one of the most fashionable European beach resorts in the early 20th century. Thomas Mann set Death in Venice on the Lido (in the Grand Hotel des Bains, which was the most glamorous hotel on the island and which features in Visconti’s 1971 film of the novel). The atmosphere during the Film Festival is an unusual compound of beach town, red carpet spectacle and serious cinephile gathering.
The main venues
The Palazzo del Cinema, on the Lungomare Marconi, is the principal venue — a large Art Deco building that houses the Sala Grande (the main competition screening room, capacity approximately 1,000) and the Sala Darsena. The Palazzo Volpi, also on the Lungomare, holds smaller screening rooms. The PalaBiennale, a temporary structure erected each year, provides additional capacity. The hotels of the Lungomare — the Excelsior and the Des Bains — function as industry headquarters during the Festival.
How to Experience the Festival as a Visitor
The Venice Film Festival is primarily an industry event — the majority of screenings are reserved for accredited press, industry professionals and invited guests. However, public access is more extensive than at Cannes, and a genuinely rewarding Film Festival experience is available to any determined visitor.
Public screenings and tickets
A significant number of screenings at the Venice Film Festival are open to the public, with tickets available for purchase. The Festival’s official website (labiennale.org) publishes the public screening schedule and ticket information in advance of each edition. Public tickets for the main competition screenings typically go on sale approximately two weeks before the Festival begins; they sell out quickly for the most anticipated films but are available for most screenings.
The Venice Classics section, the Giornate degli Autori and the Orizzonti section all have strong public accessibility. The main competition premieres (red carpet events) are the most difficult to access without accreditation; public screenings of competition films typically take place the day after their premiere.
What to expect at screenings
Festival screenings are formal occasions — particularly the premiere screenings, which begin with a red carpet procession and which the audience attends in evening dress. Public screenings tend to be somewhat less formal, though the atmosphere is always respectful of the films being shown. The Sala Grande is an extraordinary cinema in its own right — one of the finest purpose-built festival screening rooms in the world — and seeing any film there is worthwhile regardless of the film itself.
| The public free screenings on the outdoor screen in Campo San Polo in the historic centre are one of the finest Film Festival experiences available to any visitor — free entry, extraordinary setting (Venice’s second-largest campo, with the surrounding buildings as backdrop), Italian films with subtitles. These screenings take place throughout the Festival period and are one of the most genuinely magical cinema experiences available anywhere. |
The Festival Calendar: A Day-by-Day Overview
| When | Where / What | Details |
| 2th September 2026 | Opening ceremony, Palazzo del Cinema | The Festival opens with a major film selected for its ability to set the tone. Invitation only for the premiere; public screening typically the following afternoon. |
| Days 2–10 | Competition and sidebar screenings | The main programme: two to three competition screenings per day, parallel Orizzonti and sidebar screenings. Public tickets available for most. |
| All evenings | Red carpet, Palazzo del Cinema | The red carpet procession before each premiere screening is visible from the outside; no invitation required to watch from the barriers. |
| Ongoing | Campo San Polo, Venice historic centre | Free outdoor screenings of Italian-language films throughout the Festival period. One of the best free cultural experiences in Venice. |
| Ongoing | Giardini and spaces across the Lido | Sidebar events, master classes, retrospective screenings and industry panels; some open to the public. |
| 12th September 2026 | Awards ceremony, Palazzo del Cinema | The Golden Lion and other awards presented by the jury. Televised in Italy; the ceremony is the culmination of the twelve days. |
How Venice Changes During the Festival
The Film Festival changes Venice in ways that are both visible and atmospheric. The Lido, which for most of the year is a quiet suburban island, transforms into one of the most concentrated points of the international film industry for twelve days. The historic centre, while continuing its normal operation, acquires an additional layer of cultural energy — the free screenings in Campo San Polo, the increased presence of film industry visitors in the restaurants and bacari, the general feeling of something significant happening in the city.
For the general visitor to Venice in late August and early September, the Film Festival is primarily an enhancement rather than an intrusion. The most tangible effect is the increased difficulty of booking accommodation on the Lido itself, and the somewhat elevated prices across the city during the Festival period. On the historic centre side, the visitor experience is essentially unchanged — the major monuments, the bacari, the walking routes are all operating normally.
The one specific opportunity that the Film Festival creates for general visitors is the free outdoor cinema in Campo San Polo — a tradition that predates the Festival itself but is most intense during the Mostra period. Arriving early enough to get a good position for an evening screening in one of Venice’s finest campi, with the ancient buildings surrounding the screen and the city sounds filtering in from the surrounding streets, is one of those experiences that could not happen anywhere else.
| The best way to experience the Film Festival as a non-accredited visitor: arrive on the Lido in the late morning; have lunch at one of the beach restaurants; attend a public afternoon screening at the Palazzo del Cinema or a sidebar venue; watch the red carpet from the barriers in the early evening; return to the historic centre for dinner and aperitivo; attend the free outdoor screening in Campo San Polo after dark. This is a genuinely extraordinary day. |
Practical Guide for Festival Visitors
| Dates | The Venice Film Festival runs for 12 days in late August/early September. Exact dates vary; the Festival typically opens on the last Wednesday of August and closes on the following Saturday. Check labiennale.org for the confirmed dates of the current edition. |
| Tickets | Public tickets available via labiennale.org from approximately 2 weeks before the Festival opens. Orizzonti, Venice Classics and sidebar screenings are easiest to access; main competition premieres sell fastest. Some screenings are free of charge. |
| Transport | Vaporetto Line 5.1/5.2 from the historic centre to the Lido (25 min, standard ACTV ticket). Water taxi from the Piazza San Marco area to the Lido (15 min, significantly more expensive). Festival shuttle boats operating between key points during the Festival period. |
| Accommodation | The Lido hotels (Excelsior, Des Bains area, and smaller hotels and B&Bs) are closest to the venues but expensive during the Festival and should be booked months in advance. Staying in the historic centre and commuting to the Lido by vaporetto is equally convenient and offers better value and a more interesting experience of Venice itself. |
| Dress code | Premiere screenings in the Sala Grande are black tie (evening dress expected). Public screenings are smart casual. Red carpet watching is entirely informal. The beach sections of the Lido maintain a beach-town atmosphere entirely separately from the festival venues. |
| What to book | Accommodation months in advance; public screening tickets as soon as they go on sale (typically 2 weeks before); restaurant reservations for the Lido restaurants (which fill during the Festival); vaporetto day passes if using the water bus repeatedly. |
| Free events | Outdoor cinema in Campo San Polo (historic centre, throughout the Festival); red carpet observation at the Palazzo del Cinema (no ticket required for external viewing); some master classes and public events at the Biennale Gardens. |
The Venice Film Festival and the City: A Lasting Relationship
Venice and cinema have a relationship that goes beyond the logistics of hosting an annual festival. Venice has been one of the most filmed cities in the world since the earliest days of motion pictures — its visual character, its light, its combination of architectural grandeur and physical fragility make it a natural cinema setting. The films made in or about Venice form a library of their own: Death in Venice, Don’t Look Now, Summertime, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Tourist, Casino Royale, The Wings of the Dove, Bread and Tulips, Dangerous Beauty — each adding a layer to the cinematic mythology of the city.
The Film Festival is, in this sense, the annual intensification of a relationship that exists year-round. The city’s association with cinema is not merely commercial — it is deeply embedded in the character of a place that has always been as much theatrical as architectural, as much about spectacle as about substance. The Festival brings the world’s filmmakers to a city that has always understood, on some level, that life is performance.
| Venice Guide and Boat’s private tours of the historic centre and the lagoon operate year-round, including during the Film Festival period. For visitors who are in Venice for the Festival and want to combine their cinema experience with a deeper exploration of the city — the art, the lagoon, the food and social culture — our full programme is available throughout August and September. Contact us to plan the Venice experience that frames your Festival visit. |
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Venice Film Festival take place?
The Venice Film Festival runs for twelve days in late August and early September, typically opening on the last Wednesday of August and closing the following Saturday. Exact dates vary slightly from year to year; the official dates are announced by the Biennale in the spring of each year at labiennale.org.
Can non-accredited visitors attend the Venice Film Festival?
Yes — public access is more extensive than at Cannes. A significant number of screenings are open to the public with ticketed admission; some events are free of charge. The free outdoor cinema in Campo San Polo in the historic centre is available to everyone throughout the Festival period. The red carpet area at the Palazzo del Cinema is observable from designated public viewing positions without a ticket.
How do I get from Venice to the Lido during the Film Festival?
The ACTV vaporetto (Lines 5.1 and 5.2) runs between the Piazzale Roma/Ferrovia/San Zaccaria stops in the historic centre and the Lido throughout the day. The journey takes approximately 25 minutes. During the Festival, additional festival shuttle services operate between key points. Water taxis are faster and more comfortable but significantly more expensive.
Is it worth visiting Venice during the Film Festival?
Yes — the Film Festival enhances rather than disrupts the experience of Venice for most visitors. The free outdoor cinema in Campo San Polo, the atmosphere of the Lido during the twelve Festival days, the increased cultural energy of the city, and the opportunity to attend public screenings of world-class cinema in extraordinary settings all add value to a Venice visit. The practical considerations (higher accommodation prices, increased competition for Lido restaurant bookings) are manageable with advance planning.
The Oldest Festival in the World, in the Most Cinematic City
The Venice Film Festival occupies its position at the pinnacle of international cinema for reasons that go beyond its history and its awards. It occupies it because Venice — the actual physical place, with its light and water and fog and architecture — is the perfect setting for the combination of glamour and seriousness that the finest film festivals require. The red carpet at the Palazzo del Cinema, with the lagoon visible behind it and the Lido’s Art Deco hotels on either side, is one of the most distinctive visual signatures in the international cultural calendar. No other city on earth could provide this specific combination of theatrical setting and cinematic history.
For the visitor who finds themselves in Venice in late August or early September, the Film Festival is a gift — an additional dimension of cultural richness added to an already extraordinary experience. Take it: go to the Lido, find a public screening, watch the red carpet, attend the outdoor cinema in Campo San Polo. The world’s oldest film festival, in one of the world’s great cities, is an experience worth encountering even on its edges.
| Planning to visit Venice during the Film Festival? Venice Guide and Boat’s tours of the historic centre, the lagoon and the outer islands operate throughout the Festival period — complementing your cinema programme with the rest of what Venice has to offer. The Lagoon and islands are particularly beautiful in the late August light. Contact us to plan the full Venice experience around your Festival visit. |
