# Golden Osella

The Golden Osella (Italian: Osella d'oro) is one of the oldest and most distinguished awards presented at the Venice Film Festival. Named after the historic osella—a commemorative medal given by the Doges of Venice to notable members of the Venetian Republic—the Golden Osella honors exceptional achievements in cinema, covering a spectrum of creative and technical contributions.
It was introduced in 1987 by the festival's organizing committee and was awarded irregularly until 2012. Daniele Ciprì and Olivier Assayas are the most recent winners for their respective works in It Was the Son and Something in the Air.

## History

The Golden Osella was first established in 1987 as part of the 44th Venice International Film Festival and was awarded for over two decades, making it one of the festival's most distinctive prizes. Since its inception, it has recognized excellence across a range of cinematic fields, including direction, screenplay, cinematography, production design, costume design, music score, and editing. It is inspired by the osella tradition dating back to the 15th century in the Venetian Republic, where the Doge would distribute these silver medallions to members of the Maggior Consiglio or other distinguished citizens. Each medallion bore unique engravings, often featuring the Doge's likeness or scenes from Venetian life, symbolizing the recipient's esteemed place in the city.
Over the decades, the official festival jury has selected Golden Osella recipients based on films in the main competition. The first winners were Luciano Ricceri, Nana Cecchi, Sten Holmberg, David Mamet, and Richard Robbins for their work in The Gold Rimmed Glasses, Hip Hip Hurrah!, House of Games, and Maurice, respectively. From 1999 to 2003, no Golden Osella was presented, although screenplay awards were given to One Hundred Steps (2000) and Y tu mamá también (2001), with technical awards going to Far from Heaven (2002) and Good Morning, Night (2003). It was reintroduced in 2004 with a Special Golden Osella presented to Studio Ghibli for Howl's Moving Castle, marking the only occasion that the award was given to a production studio. The Golden Osella was last given out in 2012. Starting from the following year, a screenplay award is presented in a traditional format as a metal lion, distinct from the osella.
As of 2012, Sooni Taraporevala, Cuca Canals, Paz Alicia Garciadiego, and Anne Fontaine are the only female screenwriters to have won the award for their respective works on Mississippi Masala, The Tit and the Moon, Dry Cleaning, and Deep Crimson. Additionally, Nana Cecchi, Dominique Auvray, Mónica Chirinos, Marisa Pecanins, and Sylvie Olivé have been honored for their outstanding technical contributions, specifically in The Gold Rimmed Glasses, No Fear, No Die, Deep Crimson and Mr. Nobody. Deep Crimson holds the distinction of being the only film to receive three awards, while The Gold Rimmed Glasses is the only other multiple winner, having claimed two awards.
Three Colours: Blue and Lust, Caution are the only films that have also won the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion.

## Winners

| Year | English title | Original title | Recipient(s) |
| 1980s |||||
| 1987 | The Gold Rimmed Glasses | Gli occhiali d'oro | Luciano Ricceri $^§$ |
| 1987 | The Gold Rimmed Glasses | Gli occhiali d'oro | Nana Cecchi $^∞$ |
| 1987 | Hip Hip Hurrah! | Hip Hip Hurrah! | Sten Holmberg $^‡$ |
| 1987 | House of Games | House of Games | David Mamet $^✧$ |
| 1987 | Maurice | Maurice | Richard Robbins $^※$ |
| 1988 | The Black Monk | Чёрный монах | Vadim Yusov $^‡$ |
| 1988 | Burning Secret | Burning Secret | Bernd Lepel $^§$ |
| 1988 | A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings | Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes | Pablo Milanés, Gianni Nocenzi, José María Vitier $^※$ |
| 1988 | Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios | Pedro Almodóvar $^✧$ |
| 1989 | Australia | Australia | Giorgos Arvanitis $^‡$ |
| 1989 | I Want to Go Home | I Want to Go Home | Jules Feiffer $^✧$ |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | Boys on the Outside | Ragazzi fuori | Mauro Marchetti $^‡$ |
| 1990 | No Fear, No Die | S'en fout la mort | Dominique Auvray $^⁂$ |
| 1990 | The Only Witness | Edinstvenijat svidetel | Valeri Milovansky $^※$ |
| 1991 | Germany Year 90 Nine Zero | Allemagne année 90 neuf zéro | Jean-Luc Godard $^※$ |
| 1991 | Mississippi Masala | Mississippi Masala | Sooni Taraporevala $^✧$ |
| 1991 | Scream of Stone | Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein | Werner Herzog |
| 1993 | 1, 2, 3, Sun | Un, deux, trois, soleil | Khaled $^※$ |
| 1993 | Three Colours: Blue | Trois couleurs: Bleu | Sławomir Idziak $^‡$ |
| 1994 | Ashes of Time | 東邪西毒 | Christopher Doyle $^‡$ |
| 1994 | Lamerica | Lamerica | Gianni Amelio $^✶$ |
| 1994 | The Tit and the Moon | La Teta y la luna | Bigas Luna and Cuca Canals $^✧$ |
| 1995 | Det Means Girl | Det Yani Dokhtar | Abolfazl Jalili |
| 1995 | In the Bleak Midwinter | In the Bleak Midwinter | Kenneth Branagh $^✶$ |
| 1995 | Maborosi | 幻の光 | Masao Nakabori $^‡$ |
| 1996 | Deep Crimson | Profundo Carmesí | Mónica Chirinos and Marisa Pecanins $^§$ |
| 1996 | Deep Crimson | Profundo Carmesí | Paz Alicia Garciadiego $^✧$ |
| 1996 | Deep Crimson | Profundo Carmesí | David Mansfield $^※$ |
| 1997 | Chinese Box | Chinese Box | Graeme Revell $^※$ |
| 1997 | Dry Cleaning | Nettoyage à sec | Anne Fontaine and Gilles Taurand $^✧$ |
| 1997 | Ossos | Ossos | Emmanuel Machuel $^‡$ |
| 1998 | Autumn Tale | Conte d'automne | Éric Rohmer $^✧$ |
| 1998 | Clouds | La nube | Gerardo Gandini $^※$ |
| 1998 | Shooting the Moon | L'albero delle pere | Luca Bigazzi $^‡$ |
| 2000s |||||
| 2004 | Howl's Moving Castle | ハウルの動く城 | Studio Ghibli |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | Good Night, and Good Luck | George Clooney and Grant Heslov $^✧$ |
| 2005 | Regular Lovers | Les Amants réguliers | William Lubtchansky $^‡$ |
| 2006 | Children of Men | Children of Men | Emmanuel Lubezki $^‡$ |
| 2006 | The Queen | The Queen | Peter Morgan $^✧$ |
| 2007 | It's a Free World... | It's a Free World... | Paul Laverty $^✧$ |
| 2007 | Lust, Caution | 色，戒 | Rodrigo Prieto $^‡$ |
| 2008 | Paper Soldier | Бумажный солдат | Maksim Drozdov and Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev $^‡$ |
| 2008 | Teza | Teza | Haile Gerima $^✧$ |
| 2009 | Life During Wartime | Life During Wartime | Todd Solondz $^✧$ |
| 2009 | Mr. Nobody | Mr. Nobody | Sylvie Olivé $^§$ |
| 2010s |||||
| 2010 | The Last Circus | Balada triste de trompeta | Álex de la Iglesia $^✧$ |
| 2010 | Silent Souls | Овсянки | Mikhail Krichman $^‡$ |
| 2011 | Alps | Άλπεις | Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou $^✧$ |
| 2011 | Wuthering Heights | Wuthering Heights | Robbie Ryan $^‡$ |
| 2012 | It Was the Son | È stato il figlio | Daniele Ciprì $^‡$ |
| 2012 | Something in the Air | Après mai | Olivier Assayas $^✧$ |

### Notes

    $^✶$ indicates work in direction
    $^✧$ indicates work in screenplay
    $^‡$ indicates work in cinematography
    $^§$ indicates work in production design
    $^∞$ indicates work in costume design
    $^※$ indicates work in music score
    $^⁂$ indicates work in editing