Venice Film Week is an independent film event held in Venice every August, at the same time as, but separately from, the Venice International Film Festival. Its official selection leans towards unconventional, experimental and minimalist work by emerging independent filmmakers, covering narrative and documentary features, shorts, animation and experimental film, with a separate award for Italian cinema. Screenings are free: an open-air opening night at Campo San Polo is followed by indoor programmes at Casa del Cinema, and part of the selection streams online on Whush. Every selected filmmaker receives the Tarkovski Grant, a package of submission-fee waivers for partner festivals.
The festival is a project of Velvet Room and The Bigger Screen; its archive of award winners goes back to 2016. The 2027 edition is dated 23–27 August 2027.
Awards and prizes
Awards are given in these categories: Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature Film, Best Animated Feature Film, Best Narrative Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Experimental Film and Best Italian Film, plus an Audience Choice Award for the streaming selection. All selected filmmakers receive the Tarkovski Grant, a package of submission-fee waivers for partner festivals, and selected films may be offered a one-year non-exclusive place in the Whush.com streaming catalogue.
Festival rules
Venice Film Week accepts films of all forms and genres. Non-English-language films must have English subtitles. Films that have premiered elsewhere or already have distribution are accepted; rough cuts and incomplete projects are not. Several films may be entered, each with a separate entry. Submission categories: Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Animated Short, Experimental Film, Local Filmmakers Program and Streaming Selection / Audience Choice Award. Submissions are accepted online only, through FilmFreeway, and are not returned. The festival pays no screening fees and does not grant fee waivers beyond its own programmes; a selected film cannot be withdrawn from the programme. The festival screens Blu-ray and MP4.
