The Venice Film Festival is rolling out a juried impact award that will mark the first time a major film festival has awarded a prize focused solely on impact.
Impact campaigns are crafted around documentaries and some narrative films that have strong social or political messages that can inspire action among audiences and the industry at large. While the field has been around for the last decade, Venice’s Collateral Impact Award, which was created in partnership with ThinkFilm Impact Production, is the first time an impact-specific award is being presented at an A-list festival.
“This is an industry first — it’s not been seen anywhere,” ThinkFilm Impact Production founder and CEO Danielle Turkov Wilson told PvNew. “I’ve been working at Cannes at the industry level for years, but to see something like this at the competition level is wonderful.”
Venice organizers said the award will honor a film in the official selection that “has the greatest potential to unlock human potential and have a transformative impact on society.”
“At a time when the film industry is reckoning with its own practices and ethics, this impact award is key to re-centering on the intrinsic value of people and drawing attention to issues that get left unnoticed,” added organizers.
The award will be decided by a jury comprised of French César-winning actor and producer Elsa Zylberstein (“I’ve Loved You So Long”), Mexican actor and Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Lebanese actor, director and activist Nadine Labaki (“Costa Brava Lebanon”), British-Nigerian screenwriter Misan Sagay (“Belle”) and famed Italian director Stefano Savona (“Samouni Road,” “The Walls of Bergamo”).
The jury will assess the films’ artistic creativity and uniqueness; their relevance and need in the global political climate; their potential to challenge audience perspectives on issues presented; and their potential to inspire audiences to take action.
The winner will receive a strategic partnership deal with Think-Film. The org’s credits include the BAFTA and Oscar winner “Navalny,” Peabody winner “The Territory” and other films such as “Dark Waters” and “The Son.”
Think-Film’s Turkov Wilson said: “Venice Biennale artistic director Alberto Barbera’s support for this new award is a true marker of how far the film industry has come in recognising impact as an integral part of the industry. I hope that it leads to many more awards that integrate impact and many more festivals showing their commitment to be part of an industry that truly gives back to society.”
The Impact Award is being featured at an Impact Focus Day on Sept. 1 in Venice led by The Human Safety Net Foundation and supported by Think-Film Impact Production and Vital Voices.
A bronze statuette to be presented to the winning film is being sculpted by Venice-based Italo-Brazilian artist Nicolas Fiedler. The statuette design is meant to embody impact as a foundation for structural and societal change.
