Queer Lion
| Queer Lion | |
|---|---|
| Leone Queer (Italian) | |
 2025 recipient: David Pablos | |
| Location | Venice |
| Country | Italy |
| Presented by | Venice Film Festival |
| First award | 2007 |
| Currently held by | David Pablos for On the Road (2025) |
| Website | labiennale.org/cinema |
The Queer Lion (Italian: Leone Queer) is an annual independent prize awarded at the Venice Film Festival, since 2007, to the Best Queer Feature Film.[1] A jury composed of journalists, filmmaker, and artists is usually formed before the festival to assign the winner.
All the movies containing LGBTQ themes presented in any of the sections of the festival (Main Competition, Out of Competition, Orizzonti, Venice Spotlight, Giornate degli Autori, and Settimana Internazionale della Critica) are eligible for the prize.
History
The idea of the Queer Lion comes from a 2003 interview, made by president of CinemArte association Daniel N. Casagrande for monthly magazine Venezia News, to then-Director of the Venice Film Festival Moritz de Hadeln. During the interview, Casagrande asked de Hadeln if the Venice Film Festival would have welcomed an award meant to specifically honor gay-themed movies, the same way Berlin International Film Festival had done 20 years earlier (with Teddy Award). Although the answer was a positive one, the changing of the Festival’s director the following year caused a delay in the development of the project, which was greenlighted by the new director Marco Müller, who declared his will to back and sustain the creation of such a new collateral award.
The prize first winner was American filmmaker Edward Radtke for the drama film The Speed of Life (2007) at the 64th edition.
Among its winners are: Tom Ford, Al Pacino, Stephen Frears, Tom Hooper, and Mona Fastvold.
Winners
2000s
| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Speed of Life | Edward Radtke | United States | [2] | |
| 2008 | One Day in a Life | Un Altro Pianeta | Stefano Tummolini | Italy | [3] |
| 2009 | A Single Man | Tom Ford | United States | [4] | |
2010s
| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | In the Future | En el Futuro | Mauro Andrizzi | Argentina | [5] |
| 2011 | Wilde Salomé | Al Pacino | United States | [6] | |
| 2012 | The Weight | 무게 | Jeon Kyu-hwan | South Korea | [7] |
| 2013 | Philomena | Stephen Frears | United Kingdom | [8] | |
| 2014 | Summer Nights | Les Nuits d'été | Mario Fanfani | France | [1] |
| 2015 | The Danish Girl | Tom Hooper | United States | [9] | |
| 2016 | Heartstone | Hjartasteinn | Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson | Iceland | [1] |
| 2017 | Reinventing Marvin | Marvin ou la belle éducation | Anne Fontaine | France | [1] |
| 2018 | José | Cheng Li | Guatemala, United States | [10] | |
| 2019 | The Prince | El Principe | Sebastián Muñoz | Chile | [11] |
2020s
| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The World to Come | Mona Fastvold | United States | [12] | |
| 2021 | The Last Chapter | La dernière séance | Gianluca Matarrese | Italy, France | [13] |
| 2022 | Skin Deep | Aus meiner Haut | Alex Schaad | Germany | [14] |
| 2023 | Housekeeping for Beginners | Домаќинство за почетници | Goran Stolevski | Poland, Serbia, Australia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, United States | [15] |
| 2024 | Soul of the Desert | Alma del Desierto | Mónica Taboada-Tapia | Colombia, Brazil | [16] |
| 2025 | On the Road | En el Camino | David Pablos | Mexico, France | [17] |
References
- 1 2 3 4 David Opie, "Venice Film Festival: A Guide To Every Queer Lion Award Winner So Far". Into, August 22, 2018.
- ↑ "iW NEWS | Venice Fest Showcases Special Lions" Archived 2020-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire, 10 September 2007.
- ↑ Ronnie Scheib, "One Day in a Life". Variety, 23 September 2008.
- ↑ Michael Jensen, "Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” wins Queer Lion at Venice Film Festival while Colin Firth named Best Actor. Watch Trailer". NewNowNext, 13 September 2009.
- ↑ Eric J. Lyman, "'In the Future' wins Venice's Queer Lion". The Hollywood Reporter, 10 September 2010.
- ↑ "Al Pacino's 'Wilde Salome' Wins Fifth Queer Lion In Venice". On Top, 11 September 2011.
- ↑ Eric J. Lyman, "Venice 2012: Korean Film 'The Weight' Wins Queer Lion Prize". The Hollywood Reporter, 7 September 2012.
- ↑ Eric J. Lyman, "Stephen Frears' 'Philomena' Wins Venice Queer Lion Prize as Fest Unveils First Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, 6 September 2013.
- ↑ Itay Hod, "Eddie Redmayne’s ‘The Danish Girl’ Wins Venice’s Queer Lion Award as Oscar Buzz Mounts". TheWrap, 11 September 2015.
- ↑ Gary Goldstein, "Review: ‘José’ explores a gay love story in Guatemala amid an age of uncertainty". Los Angeles Times, 6 February 2020.
- ↑ Boyd van Hoeij, "'The Prince' ('El principe'): Film Review | Venice 2019". The Hollywood Reporter, 10 September 2019.
- ↑ Steve Pond, "‘Nomadland’ Wins Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival". TheWrap, 12 September 2020.
- ↑ Davide Abbatescianni, "The 78th Venice Film Festival announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 11 September 2021.
- ↑ Davide Abbatescianni, "The 79th Venice Film Festival announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 10 September 2022.
- ↑ Davide Abbatescianni, "Venice announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, 9 September 2023.
- ↑ Federico Boni (6 September 2024). "Alma del Desierto vince il Queer Lion 2024. In trionfo Georgina, donna Wayúu transgender simbolo di resistenza e speranza". Gay.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ↑ Davide Abbatescianni, "Venice announces the winners of its parallel awards". Cineuropa, September 6, 2025.