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The Venice Film Festival was the brainchild of Count Giuseppe Volpi of Misurata the president of the Biennial of Venice. It was known as the 1st Internaitonal Film Festival of the Art Biennial which made its debut from the 6th to the 21st of August in 1932. It was dubbed the first international film event of its kind.

The first event in 1932 was held at the terrace of Hotel Excelsior at Lido of Venice. But not yet a festival for competitive review. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was the first film to be shown on the evening of the 1st International Film Festival of the Art Biennial. The halls of Excelsior would have a great dance after the screening of the movie.

On August 11, 1932 the first Italian film "Gli uomini, che mascalzoni" was shown to audiences at the festival. Acknowledgements and awards would be decided by popular vote due to a lack of a film jury in awarding the prizes. The votes were determined by how many people watched each film.

The next festival was held on August 1st to the 20th in 1934. It would be the first competive edition. About nineteen countries would participate sending represenatives in the form of journalists to these film screenings. The Mussolini Cup was established to be awarded for the best foreign and best Italian films.

But there was still no true jury. Instead, the president of the Biennial would decide the winners by consulting these people: director of I' Istituto Internazionale per la Cinematografia Educative, other film experts, public opinion, and the director of the festival. It wouldn't be just by the popular vote.

The Golden Medals of the Fascist National Association of the Show would be given out asides from the Mussolini Cup. Due to the success of these festivals, it would be an annual event. The third event would take place in 1935. More works would be entered and more countries would participate.

By the years, the festival would grow much bigger. They had pressures of Italy's Fascist Government to deal with. The films that won were of explicit propaganda. The editions of 1940-1942 were so degenerated that they deemed "never happened" because of the political pressures ruined the festival.

The festival was monopolized by directors who were part of the Rome-Berlin axis. It was a dark time of the Venice Film Festival.

The festival would go back to normal in 1946. But they would be filmed at the San Marco cinema due to Cinema Palace being under Allied control. It would be held in September in agreement with the newly established Canne Film Festival.

In 1949, the festival would return to the Cinema Palace. The Golden Lion of San Marco for Best Film is instituted and is awarded to the film "Manon" by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

In the 1950s, Japanese cinema was introduced to the festival such as films like "Rashomon," "Muhomatsu no Issho," and "The Seven Samurai." Numerous Japanese films received much acclaim.

In 1957, Indian cinema would gain recognition.

In the 70s, competition was abolished. Now, the editions up until 1979 were strictly non-competitive. A new award was established, the Golden Lion for Career Achievement.

Within the decades, the Venice Film Festival has greatly evolved showcasing films from other countries in the world. A new award in 2001 was was created called Golden Lion - the Lion of the Yar. It was to give more attention and provide more opportunities for first works.

What was a festival established within the 1930s has gone a long way to being one of the biggest international festivals of the world.

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