John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival.

[5] The Silver Lion Award for Best Director was given to Álex de la Iglesia, for A Sad Trumpet Ballad.

Representing the jury, American director Quentin Tarantino appealed to Festival head Marco Müller to alter the rules.

[21] From 2010 on, this section, dedicated to new trends in world cinema, has opened itself to all "extra-format" works, while four new awards have been established for it.

[22] The following films, representing "new trends in Italian cinema", were screened in this section:[23] The following films were shown as part of a retrospective section on Italian comedy, titled The State of Things, spanning the years 1937 to 1988.