The 68th Venice Film Festival (Italian Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica), the oldest film festival in the world came to an end September 10, 2011. This prestigious festival, founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the “Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica” quickly became an annual on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. It is part of the art celebration Venice Biennale, a biennial exhibition and festival for contemporary art. Source: Wikipedia

What’s the aim of the festival? Film appreciation of course, through awareness and a platform for international cinema regardless of genre. And the lucky winners for this year are:

Golden Lion for Best Film to ‘Faust’ by Aleksander Sokurov.

Silver Lion for Best Director to Shangjun Cai for the film ‘Ren Shan Ren Hai’.

Special Jury Prize to ‘Terraferma’ by Emanuele Crialese.

Coppa Volpi to Michael Fassbender for the film ‘Shame’ and to Deanie Yip for the film ‘Tao Jie’.

Marcello Mastroianni Award to Shôta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidô for the film ‘Himizu’.

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement went to Marco Bellocchio and Al Pacino received Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award 2011.

See here for a full list of awards.

Egyptian Filmmakers Tamer Ezzat, Ayten Amin, and Amr Salama.screened their documentary ‘Tahrir 2011’ The film is divided into three chapters – The Good, The Bad and The Politician. Each director handled a chapter, focusing respectively on the demonstrators, police forces, and Mubarak himself.” Source: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/493901.

Also from the Middle East, Susan Youssef screened Habibi Rasak Kharban (Darling, Something’s Wrong with Your Head). The film is a fable based on the legendary ‘Majnun Layla’, and is set in modern day Gaza.

Check out pictures of notable stars who attended festival here.

As the Venice film festival comes to an end, we look forward to more film news from the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 8th – 18th 2011. Keep your eyes peeled for some fresh updates.