The Venice Film Festival is thought to be the oldest film festival in the world. Every year, people from all over the world go to enjoy the great films and see the film stars.
The Venice Film Festival first took place in 1932. Since then, it has been held every year. At the first Venice Film Festival, there were no judges or prizes at all, only a list of good films chosen by the public. At the second festival, prizes started to be given. The prize of the festival is the Golden Lion. The lion is the emblem of the ancient republic of Venice.
This festival becomes more and more important. But from 1943 to 1945, the festival was destroyed because of World War II. In 1946, the festival became active again. Right up until today, the festival has provided a great chance for people around the world. They can learn other countries' culture through films. Many Chinese movie makers are sending their movies to the festival and some of them have won the Golden Lion, like Zhang Yimou.
