41st Venice International Film Critics' Week Award Winners

Update September 12, 2026. Yesterday this parallel section of La Mostra had their award ceremony where award winners were announced. The following is an excerpt of the statement by Beatrice Fiorentino, Artistic Director of la Settimana.

"A list of award winners that perfectly reflects the breadth of our program, from its most accessible works to its most radical, while above all recognizing its profoundly contemporary character, firmly rooted in the complexities of the present. We live in a world undergoing profound change, and the response from both the jouries and audiences was immediate... "

Before the War by Tommaso Usberti, Our Share of Sand by Shalini Adnani, The End of Times by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas are some of this always unconventional section of la Biennale Cinema. Award winners are below in DARK BLUE.

To check the complete statement as well as the award winners at the official site go here.

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July 20th
As happen last year la Settimana announced their lineup before the official press conference for #BiennaleCinema2026 so, it's not a surprise and perhaps now is going to be the norm.

The 2026 Settimana Internazionale della Critica Artistic Director Beatrice Fiorentino does a very interesting and complex introduction to the current edition based upon what she calls "Rewriting the Canon". The video below has the complete introduction in Italian with English subtitles that do recommend to watch, but if you wish to read for better comprehension got to official site here.

Here are two excerpts.
"In these circumstances, curating a festivall program is an act of great responsibility. A festival is not a neutral bubble: asserting our cultural activism by deciding which films to showcase and which to exclude, means considering the act of selection a Godardian feat: making a political decision, just as films are meant to be made politically".
"The program of the 2026 edition is making a clear statement, with its plurality of origins already charting a possible course forward".

There are much more insights in her introduction I suggest you see, hear or read; in the meantime my sincere congratulations for her vision. Brava signora Beatrice Fiorentino!!!

Let's recall that The Venice Settimana Internazionale della Critica, now in its 41st edition, is an independent and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) within the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The program includes a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special out-of-competition events, all presented as world premieres. The selection is curated by the Artistic Director Beatrice Fiorentino together with the members of the selection committee: Matteo Berardini, Marianna Cappi, FrancescoGrieco, and Marco Romagna.

All 7 films In Competition are eligible for the Lion of the Future "Luigi De Laurentiis" Venice Award for a Debut Film.

La Settimana will furn from September 2nd to September 12th and to read the list at the official site go here.

The Selection

Feature Films

In Competition

*El Fin de los Tiempos (The End of Times), Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas, Colombia (fiction-documentary hybrid) GRAND PRIZE SPECIAL MENTION AND PREMIO MARIO SERANDREI FOR BEST TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION WINNER
*发现之旅 Fa xian zhi lü (Zoom In, Zoom Out), Dong Jie, China VERONA FILM CLUB AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE FEATURE WINNER
هلع The H@llow Man, Kamel Laaridhi, Tunisia
London, Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli, Brazil
Meteorito (Meteorite), Sebastián Múnera, Colombia
*Our Share of Sand, Shalini Adnani, India, UK and Greece AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER
*Prima della Guerra (Before The War), Tommaso Usberti, France and Italy GRAND PRIZE WINNER AND LUCIANO SOVENA AWARD FOR BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION WINNER

Out of Competition
Opening Film: Il Grande Giaffa (Giaffa The Great), Marco Santi, Italy
Closing Film: Rider, Roan Johnson and Davide Pavanello, Italy

SIC@SIC Italian Short Cinema
The 11th edition of SIC@SIC offers a selection of seven short films in competition by Italian directors who have not yet completed a full-length fiction film, and two special events out of competition.

In Competition

*Dove le lacrime Aspettano (Where Tears Await), Caterina Bertini and Blu Diego Fasoli, Italy 20' BEST SHORT FILM SPECIAL MENTION
*E-I-E-I-O, Noemi Arfuso, Italy 10' (experimental) BEST SHORT FILM AWARD WINNER
Granchità (Crabkind), Anaïs Landriscina and Chiara Toffoletto, Italy 17' (fiction-documentary hybrid)
Gusci (Eggshells), Elisa Chiari and Francesca Trovato, Italy 17'
Puca, Sara Scalera, Italy 14'
*Revolver, Paoli De Luca, Italy 20' BEST DIRECTOR AWARD WINNER
*Se mai le cose (If Things Could Ever Talk), Giulia Cosentino, Italy and France 20'  BEST TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD WINNER AND CENTRO NAZIONALE DEL CORTOMETRAGGIO AWARD WINNER

Out of Competition
Opening Short Film: Les Métamorphoses, au féminin, Maria Giménez Cavallo, USA, France and Italy 20'
Closing Short Film: Un Breve Incontro (A Brief Encounter), Liryc Dela Cruz, Italy 20'

To check available info and trailers go MOC here.
To check available posters go pinterest here.

The following is the video introducing the 2026 SIC selection.