Here are the top 5 honors a film can get
Have you ever watched a film and were filled with so much awe at the end that you wished it had won the Oscars? It’s creative direction, masterful acting, and the gripping story made you want to hand it an honour like no other? But which are the biggest honours a film can get anyway? Let’s find out.
Golden Lion: Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or the Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. While the festival is part of an Italian art exhibition called Venice Biennale started founded in 1893, the festival itself was started in 1932.
The Festival was introduced as the Golden Lion of St. Mark in 1949 as the symbol of Venice. It is known for the diversity in its nominations. You’ll see European, Asian, and American feature films on equal platforms in the nominations. The list of awards at the festival include:
- Golden Lion for the best film
- Silver Lion for the best director
- Grand Jury Prize
- Volpi Cup for the best actor and actress
- Special Jury Prize
- Golden Osella for the Best Technical Contribution and Best Screenplay.
Best Motion Picture: Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are awards given by the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual ceremony which has become the third most-watched awards show in the world was started in January 1944.
Meryl Streep is the only person to receive eight Golden Globes though Barbara Streisand has nine if honorary awards are included. The most well-known categories in the Golden Globe Awards are:
- Best Motion Picture
- Best Director
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Best Screenplay
- Best Original Score
- Best Original Song
- Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures
The Golden Bear: Berlin Film Festival
Also known as the Berlinale, the Berlin Film Festival is the largest film festival in the world in terms of attendance rates with 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions each year. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been held every February since 1978 in Berlin, Germany.
The main categories in the film include:
- Competition: This category comprises films that are yet to be released outside their country of origin. In this section, films compete for several prizes including the Golden Bear for the best film and Silver Bears for writing, acting, and production.
- Panorama: New independent and arthouse films with controversial subjects and unconventional aesthetic styles are included in this category.
- Forum: This category showcases experimental and documentary films from around the world.
- Generation: Short and feature-length films aimed at children and youths are grouped in this category.
- Perspektive Deutsches Kino: This category is specifically created to emphasise current trends in German cinema.
- Berlinale Shorts: Domestic and international short films with innovative filmmaking techniques compete in this category.
- Retrospective: This category pays homage to classic films and hours the life work of directors and actors.
Palme d’Or: Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival is a premier, invitation-style film festival held every year at Cannes, France. It previews new films of all genres, even including documentaries from around the globe.
The most prestigious award given at Cannes is the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) for the best film. Other awards include:
- Grand Prix: Grand Prize of the Festival
- Prix du Jury: Jury Prize
- Palme d’Or du court métrage: Best Short Film
- Prix d’interprétation féminine: Best Actress
- Prix d’interprétation masculine: Best Actor
- Prix de la mise en scène: Best Director
- Prix du scénario: Best Screenplay
- Prix Un Certain Regard: Young talent, innovative and audacious works
- Cinéfondation prizes: Student films
Best Picture Oscar: Academy Awards
The Academy Awards or the Oscars are the most renowned and awaited film ceremony year after year. First presented in 1929, today, it’s watched live in more than 200 countries. It’s hosted in the first quarter of the year and honours the achievements of the previous year.
Winners are awarded a statuette made of gold-plated britannium. It has a black metal base and shows a knight with a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes — each for the actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians. The most prestigious categories include:
- Best Picture since 1927/28
- Best Director since 1927/28
- Best Actor since 1927/28
- Best Actress since 1927/28
- Best Supporting Actor since 1936
- Best Supporting Actress since 1936
- Best Animated Feature Film since 2001
- Best Animated Short Film since 1930/31
- Best Cinematography since 1927/28
- Best Costume Design since 1948
