# Silver Lion

The Silver Lion (Italian: Leone d'argento, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film in the official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998.
The prize has been awarded irregularly and has gone through several changes of purpose. Between 1953 and 1994, the award was given infrequently to a number of films as second prize for those nominated for the Golden Lion. At various times, the Silver Lion has also been awarded for debut films, short films, and direction.

## Silver Lion for Best Direction (1990–present)

| Year | Director(s) | English Title | Original Title |
| 1990s ||||
| 1990 (47th) | Martin Scorsese | Goodfellas | Goodfellas |
| 1998 (55th) | Emir Kusturica | Black Cat, White Cat | Црна мачка, бели мачор |
| 1999 (56th) | Zhang Yuan | Seventeen Years | 過年回家 |
| 2000s ||||
| 2000 (57th) | Buddhadeb Dasgupta | Uttara | উত্তরা |
| 2001 (58th) | Babak Payami | Secret Ballot | رأی مخفی |
| 2002 (59th) | Lee Chang-dong | Oasis | 오아시스 |
| 2003 (60th) | Takeshi Kitano | Zatōichi | 座頭市 |
| 2004 (61st) | Kim Ki-duk | 3-Iron | 빈집 |
| 2005 (62nd) | Philippe Garrel | Regular Lovers | Les Amants réguliers |
| 2006 (63rd) | Alain Resnais | Private Fears in Public Places | Cœurs |
| 2007 (64th) | Brian De Palma | Redacted | Redacted |
| 2008 (65th) | Aleksei Alekseivich German | Paper Soldier | Бумажный солдат |
| 2009 (66th) | Shirin Neshat | Women Without Men | زنان بدون مردان |
| 2010s ||||
| 2010 (67th) | Álex de la Iglesia | The Last Circus | Balada triste de trompeta |
| 2011 (68th) | Cai Shangjun | People Mountain People Sea | 人山人海 |
| 2012 (69th) | Paul Thomas Anderson | The Master | The Master |
| 2013 (70th) | Alexandros Avranas | Miss Violence | Miss Violence |
| 2014 (71st) | Andrei Konchalovsky | The Postman's White Nights | Белые ночи почтальона Алексея Тряпицына |
| 2015 (72nd) | Pablo Trapero | The Clan | El Clan |
| 2016 (73rd) | Amat Escalante | The Untamed | La región salvaje |
| 2016 (73rd) | Andrei Konchalovsky | Paradise | Рай |
| 2017 (74th) | Xavier Legrand | Custody | Jusqu'à la garde |
| 2018 (75th) | Jacques Audiard | The Sisters Brothers | The Sisters Brothers |
| 2019 (76th) | Roy Andersson | About Endlessness | Om det oändliga |
| 2020s ||||
| 2020 (77th) | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Wife of a Spy | スパイの妻 |
| 2021 (78th) | Jane Campion | The Power of the Dog | The Power of the Dog |
| 2022 (79th) | Luca Guadagnino | Bones and All | Bones and All |
| 2023 (80th) | Matteo Garrone | Io Capitano | Io Capitano |
| 2024 (81st) | Brady Corbet | The Brutalist | The Brutalist |

## Multiple Winners

The following individuals received two or more Silver Lion for Best Direction awards:
| Number of Wins | Director | Nationality | Films |
| 2 | Andrei Konchalovsky | Russia | The Postman's White Nights (2014) and Paradise (2016) |

## Defunct Categories
### Silver Lion Prize (1953–1994)

From 1953 to 1957, the Silver Lion was awarded to a number of films nominated for the Golden Lion as a second prize. From 1988 to 1994, the Silver Lion was awarded to one or more films nominated for the Golden Lion.
| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
| 1953 | Little Fugitive | Little Fugitive | Raymond Abrashkin, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin |
| 1953 | Moulin Rouge | Moulin Rouge | John Huston |
| 1953 | Sadko | Садко | Aleksandr Ptushko |
| 1953 | Thérèse Raquin | Thérèse Raquin | Marcel Carné |
| 1953 | Ugetsu | 雨月物語 | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| 1953 | I Vitelloni | I Vitelloni | Federico Fellini |
| 1954 | On the Waterfront | On the Waterfront | Elia Kazan |
| 1954 | Sansho the Bailiff | 山椒大夫 | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| 1954 | Seven Samurai | 七人の侍 | Akira Kurosawa |
| 1954 | La Strada | La Strada | Federico Fellini |
| 1955 | Le Amiche | Le Amiche | Michelangelo Antonioni |
| 1955 | The Big Knife | The Big Knife | Robert Aldrich |
| 1955 | Ciske the Rat | Ciske de Rat | Wolfgang Staudte |
| 1955 | The Grasshopper | Попрыгунья | Samson Samsonov |
| 1957 | White Nights | Le Notti Bianche | Luchino Visconti |
| 1988 | Landscape in the Mist | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη | Theo Angelopoulos |
| 1989 | Death of a Tea Master | 千利休 本覺坊遺文 | Kei Kumai |
| 1989 | Recollections of the Yellow House | Recordações da Casa Amarela | João César Monteiro |
| 1991 | The Fisher King | The Fisher King | Terry Gilliam |
| 1991 | J'entends plus la guitare | J'entends plus la guitare | Philippe Garrel |
| 1991 | Raise the Red Lantern | 大紅燈籠高高掛 | Zhang Yimou |
| 1992 | A Heart in Winter | Un cœur en hiver | Claude Sautet |
| 1992 | Jamón jamón | Jamón jamón | Bigas Luna |
| 1992 | Luxury Hotel | Hotel de lux | Dan Pița |
| 1993 | Kosh ba kosh | Кош-ба-кош | Bakhtyar Khudojnazarov |
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | Heavenly Creatures | Peter Jackson |
| 1994 | Little Odessa | Little Odessa | James Gray |
| 1994 | The Bull | The Bull | Carlo Mazzacurati |

### Silver Lion for Best First Work (1981–1982)

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| 1981 | Do You Remember Dolly Bell? | Сјећаш ли се Доли Бел? | Emir Kusturica | Yugoslavia |
| 1982 | Sciopèn | Sciopèn | Luciano Odorisio | Italy |
| 1982 | The Hes Case | De smaak van water | Orlow Seunke | Netherlands |

### Silver Lion for Best First Film (1983–1987)

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| 1983 | Sugar Cane Alley | La Rue Cases-Nègres | Euzhan Palcy | France |
| 1984 | Sonatine | Sonatine | Micheline Lanctôt | Canada |
| 1985 | Dust | Dust | Marion Hänsel | Belgium, France |
| 1986 | A King and His Movie | La película del rey | Carlos Sorín | Argentina |
| 1987 | Maurice | Maurice | James Ivory | United Kingdom |

### Silver Lion for Best Screenplay (1990)

| Year | Screenwriter | English Title | Original Title | Production Country |
| 1990 | Helle Ryslinge | Sirup | Sirup | Denmark |

### Silver Lion for Best Short Film (1996–2007)

| Year | Original Title | Director |
| 1996 | O Tamaiti | Sima Urale |
| 1999 | Portrait of a Young Man Drowning | Teboho Mahlatsi |
| 2000 | A Telephone Call for Genevieve Snow | Peter Long |
| 2001 | Freunde | Jan Krüger |
| 2002 | Clown | Irina Evteeva |
| 2003 | Neft | Murad Ibragimbekov |
| 2004 | Signe d'appartenance | Kamel Cherif |
| 2005 | Xiaozhan | Chien-ping Lin |
| 2006 | Comment on freine dans une descente? | Alix Delaporte |
| 2007 | Dog Altogether | Paddy Considine |

### Silver Lion for Revelation (2006)

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director | Production Country |
| 2006 | Nuovomondo | Nuovomondo | Emanuele Crialese | Italy |