2008 Venice International Film Festival

The 65th Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on August 27, 2008 by Burn After Reading, and closed on September 6, 2008. International competition jury, led by Wim Wenders, awarded Leone d'Oro to The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky. 77-year-old Italian film director Ermanno Olmi received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. The festival opened on August 27, 2008, with the highly anticipated film directed by the Coen brothers, Burn After Reading. Burn is not running in the official competition and thus is ineligible to win any prizes, but reaction in Venice will indicate whether Joel and Ethan Coen can repeat their success of 2008 with the Academy Award-winning Venice entry, No Country For Old...