The Venice Film Festival will be honoured with the Gotham Impact Salute at the 2022 Gotham Awards Ceremony, which will take place in person on November 28 in New York City, according to a statement from the Gotham Film & Media Institute.
As the first significant awards ceremony of the fall season, the Gotham Awards honour outstanding independent films and television series. A later date will be notified when the complete list of nominees and recipients for this year’s edition will be revealed.
“It is a privilege to announce that this year’s Impact Salute will honor The Venice International Film Festival, the oldest and one of the most influential film festivals in the world which is organized by La Biennale di Venezia,” said The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Executive Director, Jeffrey Sharp. “In addition to premiering some of the greatest films each year, Venice has had a major impact upon the U.S. independent film industry over the course of many decades, helping to elevate the work of filmmakers such as Darren Aronofsky, Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, Regina King, Ang Lee, George A. Romero, Gus Van Sant and Julie Taymor with world premiere screenings. These filmmakers and their films have subsequently gone on to receive numerous accolades and awards while raising awareness of the American independent film industry as a whole. As part of our annual celebration of independent film at the Gotham Awards and in recognition of our longstanding collaboration with the Biennale College Cinema, we feel that we have a unique role in recognizing the impact of this extraordinary legacy of excellence.”
The Venice Film Festival put on annually in August aims to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment, and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. Under renowned Italian critic Alberto Barbera’s artistic direction, the festival has hosted the world premieres of such award-winning films as Boys Don’t Cry, Being John Malkovich, Memento, You Can Count on Me, Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight, La La Land, The Shape of Water, The Favourite, Roma, Joker, Nomadland and One Night in Miami. Other notable premieres have included My Own Private Idaho, Far From Heaven, Frida, and Brokeback Mountain.
As a further contribution to a deeper understanding of film history, the Festival regularly hosts retrospectives and memorials to significant individuals. The 79th iteration is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 10 at the Venice Lido.
During a two-week workshop in Venice, Biennale College Cinema discovers and supports 12 feature film projects that are being presented by upcoming producers and first-time directors. Up to four projects are fully funded with a $200K grant each year, and they are scheduled to have their global premieres at the following Venice Film Festival.
Apart from the Gotham Awards and its work with the Biennale, The Gotham looks to support the independent storytelling community through year-round programs, which include Gotham Week, Gotham Labs, and Filmmaker Magazine, Gotham EDU, Owning It, and Expanding Communities.
