This list holds these three most prestigious film festivals in Europe, collectively known as the "Big Three":

  • Berlin International Film Festival – held in Berlin, Germany.
  • Cannes Film Festival – held in Cannes, a city in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
  • Venice Film Festival – held in Venice, a city in Veneto, Italy.

Top prizes

Only five filmmakers have won the Golden Bear, Palme d'Or and Golden Lion.

  • Jean-Luc Godard was given a Special Palme d'Or as an homage to his career. The other prizes on this list were all competitive prizes.
  • Henri-Georges Clouzot got two prizes on this list for a single film. The other prizes on this list are all for different films.
Georges Clouzot, completed in 1953.
Antonioni, completed in 1967.
Altman, completed in 1993.
Godard, completed in 2018; the longest gap between first and last prizes he received in 53 years.
Panahi, completed in 2025.
Name Golden Bear Year Awarded Palme d'Or Year Awarded Golden Lion Year Awarded Year Completed
France Henri-Georges Clouzot The Wages of Fear 1953 The Wages of Fear 1953 Manon 1949 1949–1953
(4 years)
Italy Michelangelo Antonioni[a] La Notte 1961 Blowup 1967 Red Desert 1964 1961–1967
(6 years)
United States Robert Altman Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson 1976 M*A*S*H 1970 Short Cuts 1993 1970–1993
(23 years)
France Jean-Luc Godard Alphaville 1965 The Image Book[b] 2018 First Name: Carmen 1983 1965–2018
(53 years)
Iran Jafar Panâhi[a] Taxi 2015 It Was Just an Accident 2025 The Circle 2000 2000–2025[1]
(25 years)

Two prizes

Filmmakers who have won two out of three:

  • AustriaSwitzerland Leopold Lindtberg (1946–1951; 5 years)
    • Four in a JeepGolden Bear (1951)
    • The Last ChancePalme d'Or (1946)
  • United Kingdom David Lean (1946–1954; 8 years)
    • Hobson's Choice – Golden Bear (1954)
    • Brief Encounter – Palme d'Or (1946)
  • Italy Roberto Rossellini (1946–1959; 13 years)
    • Rome, Open City – Palme d'Or (1946)
    • General Della RovereGolden Lion (1959)
  • Italy Vittorio De Sica (1951–1971; 20 years)
    • The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Golden Bear (1971)
    • Miracle in Milan – Palme d'Or (1951)
  • France Louis Malle (1956–1987; 31 years)
    • The Silent World – Palme d'Or (1956)
    • Atlantic City (1980) and Goodbye, Children (1987) – Golden Lion
  • MexicoSpain Luis Buñuel (1961–1967; 6 years)
    • Viridiana – Palme d'Or (1961)
    • Belle de Jour – Golden Lion (1967)
  • FrancePoland Roman Polanski (1966–2002; 36 years)
    • Cul-de-sac – Golden Bear (1966)
    • The Pianist – Palme d'Or (2002)
  • Italy Ermanno Olmi (1978–1988; 10 years)
    • The Tree of Wooden Clogs – Palme d'Or (1978)
    • The Legend of the Holy Drinker – Golden Lion (1988)
  • United States John Cassavetes (1980–1984; 4 years)
    • Love Streams – Golden Bear (1984)
    • Gloria – Golden Lion (1980)
  • Japan Akira Kurosawa (1980–1985; 5 years)
    • Kagemusha – Palme d'Or (1980)
    • Rashomon – Golden Lion (1985)
  • FranceGreece Costa-Gavras (1982–1989)
    • Music Box – Golden Bear (1989)
    • Missing – Palme d'Or (1982)
  • China Zhang Yimou (1988–1999; 11 years)
    • Red Sorghum – Golden Bear (1988)
    • The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Not One Less (1999) – Golden Lion
  • Taiwan Ang Lee (1993–2007; 14 years)
    • The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Sense and Sensibility (1995) – Golden Bear
    • Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Lust, Caution (2007) – Golden Lion
  • United Kingdom Mike Leigh (1996–2004; 8 years)
    • Secrets & Lies – Palme d'Or (1996)
    • Vera Drake – Golden Lion (2004)
  • United States Terrence Malick (1999–2011; 12 years)
    • The Thin Red Line – Golden Bear (1999)
    • The Tree of Life – Palme d'Or (2011)

Runner-up prizes

Each second place or runner-up winners consist the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Cannes's Grand Prix and Venice's Grand Jury Prize. As of 2025, Pier Paolo Pasolini is the only filmmaker to have won all the prizes.

Pasolini, completed in 1974.
Name Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize Year Awarded Grand Prix Year Awarded Venice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize Year Awarded Year Completed
Italy Pier Paolo Pasolini Il Decameron 1971 Arabian Nights 1974 The Gospel According to St. Matthew 1964 1964–1974
(10 years)

Two prizes

Filmmakers who have won two out of three:

  • FrancePoland Roman Polanski (1965–2019; 54 years)
    • RepulsionSilver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1965)
    • An Officer and a SpyVenice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize (2019)
  • France Éric Rohmer (1967–1976; 9 years)
    • La Collectionneuse – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1967)
    • The Marquise of O – Grand Prix (1976)
  • Germany Werner Herzog (1968–1975; 7 years)
    • Signs of Life – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1968)
    • The Enigma of Kaspar HauserGrand Prix (1975)
  • Italy Nanni Moretti (1981–1986; 5 years)
    • The Mass Is Ended – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1986)
    • Sweet Dreams – Venice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize (1981)
  • China Zhang Yimou (1994–2000; 6 years)
    • The Road Home – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (2000)
    • To Live – Grand Prix (1994)
  • MalaysiaTaiwan Tsai Ming-liang (1997–2013; 16 years)
    • The River – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1997)
    • Stray Dogs – Venice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize (2013)
  • Japan Ryusuke Hamaguchi (2021–2023; 2 years)
    • Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (2021)
    • Evil Does Not Exist – Venice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize (2023)

Directing prizes

Anderson, completed in 2012.
Name Silver Bear for Best Director Year Awarded Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director Year Awarded Silver Lion for Best Direction Year Awarded Year Completed
United States Paul Thomas Anderson There Will Be Blood 2008 Punch-Drunk Love 2002 The Master 2012 2002–2012[2]
(10 years)

Two prizes

Filmmakers who have won two out of three:

  • Japan Akira Kurosawa (1954–1959; 5 years)
    • The Hidden FortressSilver Bear for Best Director (1959)
    • Seven SamuraiSilver Lion for Best Direction (1954)
  • United States Martin Scorsese (1986–1990; 4 years)
    • After HoursCannes Film Festival Award for Best Director (1986)
    • Goodfellas – Silver Lion for Best Direction (1990)
  • SerbiaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Emir Kusturica (1989–1998; 9 years)
    • Time of the GypsiesCannes Film Festival Award for Best Director (1989)
    • Black Cat, White Cat – Silver Lion for Best Direction (1998)

Acting prizes

Male

Name Berlin[c] Year Awarded Cannes Year Awarded Venice Year Awarded Year Completed
United States Jack Lemmon Tribute 1980 The China Syndrome
Missing
1979
1982
Glengarry Glen Ross 1992 1979–1992
(13 years)
United States Sean Penn Dead Man Walking 1996 She's So Lovely 1997 Hurlyburly'
21 Grams
1998
2003
1996–1998
(2 years)

Female

Name Berlin[c] Year Awarded Cannes Year Awarded Venice Year Awarded Year Completed
France Juliette Binoche The English Patient 1997 Certified Copy 2010 Three Colors: Blue 1993 1993–2010
(17 years)
United States Julianne Moore The Hours 2003[d] Maps to the Stars 2014 Far from Heaven 2002 2002–2014
(12 years)

Independent prizes

FIPRESCI Prize

Name Berlin Year Awarded Cannes Year Awarded Venice Year Awarded Year Completed
Sweden Ingmar Bergman Wild Strawberries 1958 The Virgin Spring 1960 Fanny and Alexander 1983 1958–1983
(25 years)

OCIC Award

Name Berlin Year Awarded Cannes Year Awarded Venice Year Awarded Year Completed
France Robert Bresson Four Nights of a Dreamer
The Devil Probably
1971
1977
The Trial of Joan of Arc
Mouchette
1962
1967
Diary of a Country Priest
Au hasard Balthazar
1951
1966
1951–1971
(20 years)
1971–1977
(6 years)

Notes

  1. ^ a b Also won the Golden Leopard
  2. ^ Awarded as Special Palme d'Or
  3. ^ a b Starting with the 71st Berlin International Film Festival (2021), the Best Actor and Best Actress categories were consolidated into a single Best Leading Performance category.[3]
  4. ^ Shared with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep

References

  1. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2025-05-24). "Jafar Panahi Wins Cannes Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  2. ^ "Day-Lewis's final cut is the deepest". Henley Standard. February 5, 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  3. ^ "Aug 24, 2020 Berlinale 2021: Festival Planned as Physical Event / New: Gender-Neutral Performance Awards". Berlin Film Festival. Berlin Film Festival. Retrieved 3 June 2025.