Venice Film Festival -- Orizzonti (Horizons)

Overview

Orizzonti (Horizons) is the Venice Film Festival's competitive parallel section dedicated to new aesthetic directions and formally innovative cinema. Founded in 2000 as part of the Venice International Film Festival, Orizzonti runs concurrently with the main competition and presents approximately 20 feature films and 10 short films that represent emerging trends, new voices, and experimental approaches to cinema.

Orizzonti occupies an important middle ground in the Venice program: it carries the full prestige of the Venice brand and its own jury prize, while focusing on work that might be too formally unconventional or commercially uncertain for the main Competition. The section has been a platform for directors who subsequently received major recognition in the main Competition and beyond.

For filmmakers, Orizzonti represents a genuine Venice premiere with full access to the Venice market, press corps, and industry activities. An Orizzonti selection is a significant achievement that carries meaningful weight in the international film community.

Key Sections

• Orizzonti Feature Competition -- features competing for the Orizzonti Award
• Orizzonti Short Film Competition -- competitive short film program
• Orizzonti Extra -- notable films outside formal competition

What Filmmakers Should Know

Orizzonti does not accept open submissions in the traditional sense. Films are considered through the Venice selection committee's active curation and through submissions facilitated by sales agents and distributors. Filmmakers whose work is formally adventurous or represents new directions in cinema should ensure their work reaches the Venice selection team.

An Orizzonti premiere provides the same practical market access as the main Competition -- Venice accreditation, Sala Tropicana market screenings, coverage from the global press corps attending Venice -- making it an extremely valuable platform even outside the main competition spotlight.

Major Awards

• Orizzonti Award for Best Film
• Special Jury Prize
• Orizzonti Award for Best Director
• Orizzonti Award for Best Actress and Best Actor
• Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film

Festival History

Orizzonti was created in 2000 as Venice reorganized its parallel sections. The section has consistently sought films that push the boundaries of cinematic form and has served as an important discovery platform for directors who have subsequently become major figures in world cinema.

See Also

For the main Venice Film Festival, see Venice Film Festival. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy.