Lebanon (2009 film) date. Maoz says many Israeli figures were against "Lebanon" even being featured at the Venice International Film Festival. The Venice jury was chaired by Ang Lee, who had won the Golden Lion award in Venice in 2005 with "Brokeback Mountain" and in 2007 with "Lust, Caution". "Lebanon" competed against 24 other entries. The win in Venice caused a boost in the film's popularity at the Toronto International Film Festival. "The New York Times" described "Lebanon" as "an astonishing piece of cinema". "Variety" magazine said "Lebanon" is "the boldest and best" of recent Israeli films based upon the Lebanon wars. Lebanon
63rd Venice International Film Festival collateral awards were conferred to films of the official selection: 63rd Venice International Film Festival The 63rd annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 30 August 2006 with Brian De Palma's "The Black Dahlia" and was closed on 9 September 2006. Host of the event was Italian actress Isabella Ferrari. During the festival, retrospectives were held on the one hundredth anniversary of the births of three major Italian directors: Roberto Rossellini, Mario Soldati and Luchino Visconti. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to American director David Lynch. All the films running the