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
74th Venice International Film Festival 74th Venice International Film Festival The 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017. The jury president was announced as the actress Annette Bening on 5 July 2017. "Downsizing", directed by Alexander Payne, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Lion. the highest prize given by the festival, was awarded to "The Shape of Water", directed by Guillermo Del Toro. A new section for virtual-reality (VR) films was introduced in this edition of the festival, as part of the Official Selection. 22 films were selected for the first-ever competition for films made