List of Big Three film festivals winners
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
Each major winners consist the Palme d'Or (Special Palme d'Or is included), Golden Bear and Golden Lion. As of 2025, only five filmmakers have won all the top prizes, with four have all won the actual prizes.
- Jean-Luc Godard is the only filmmaker to received a Special Palme d'Or as a non-competitive prize despite not winning an actual prize.
- Henri-Georges Clouzot is the only filmmaker to received all top prizes in two different films, one of his films was The Wages of Fear, which won two major prizes in a single year.
| Name | Golden Bear | Year Awarded | Palme d'Or | Year Awarded | Golden Lion | Year Awarded | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wages of Fear | 1953 | The Wages of Fear | 1953 | Manon | 1949 | 1949–1953 (4 years) | |
| La Notte | 1961 | Blowup | 1967 | Red Desert | 1964 | 1961–1967 (6 years) | |
| Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | 1976 | M*A*S*H | 1970 | Short Cuts | 1993 | 1970–1993 (23 years) | |
| Alphaville | 1965 | The Image Book[b] | 2018 | First Name: Carmen | 1983 | 1965–2018 (53 years) | |
| Taxi | 2015 | It Was Just an Accident | 2025 | The Circle | 2000 | 2000–2025[1] (25 years) |
Two prizes
Filmmakers who have won two major prizes without awarding a single prize from the Big Three.

Leopold Lindtberg (1946–1951; 5 years)
David Lean (1946–1954; 8 years) - Hobson's Choice – Golden Bear (1954)
- Brief Encounter – Palme d'Or (1946)
Roberto Rossellini (1946–1959; 13 years) - Rome, Open City – Palme d'Or (1946)
- General Della Rovere – Golden Lion (1959)
Vittorio De Sica (1951–1971; 20 years) - The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Golden Bear (1971)
- Miracle in Milan – Palme d'Or (1951)
Louis Malle (1956–1987; 31 years) - The Silent World – Palme d'Or (1956)
- Atlantic City (1980) and Goodbye, Children (1987) – Golden Lion

Luis Buñuel (1961–1967; 6 years) - Viridiana – Palme d'Or (1961)
- Belle de Jour – Golden Lion (1967)
Ermanno Olmi (1978–1988; 10 years) - The Tree of Wooden Clogs – Palme d'Or (1978)
- The Legend of the Holy Drinker – Golden Lion (1988)
John Cassavetes (1980–1984; 4 years) - Love Streams – Golden Bear (1984)
- Gloria – Golden Lion (1980)
Akira Kurosawa (1980–1985; 5 years) 
Costa-Gavras (1982–1989)
Zhang Yimou (1988–1999; 11 years) - Red Sorghum – Golden Bear (1988)
- The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Not One Less (1999) – Golden Lion
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
Mike Leigh (1996–2004; 8 years) - Secrets & Lies – Palme d'Or (1996)
- Vera Drake – Golden Lion (2004)
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.
| Name | Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize | Year Awarded | Grand Prix | Year Awarded | Venice Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize | Year Awarded | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il Decameron | 1971 | Arabian Nights | 1974 | The Gospel According to St. Matthew | 1964 | 1964–1974 (10 years) |
Two prizes
Filmmakers who have won two major prizes without awarding a single prize from the Big Three.

Roman Polanski (1965–2019; 54 years)
Éric Rohmer (1967–1976; 9 years) - La Collectionneuse – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1967)
- The Marquise of O – Grand Prix (1976)
Werner Herzog (1968–1975; 7 years) - Signs of Life – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (1968)
- The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser – Grand Prix (1975)
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)
Zhang Yimou (1994–2000; 6 years) - The Road Home – Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (2000)
- To Live – Grand Prix (1994)

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)
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
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| There Will Be Blood | 2008 | Punch-Drunk Love | 2002 | The Master | 2012 | 2002–2012[2] (10 years) |
Two prizes
Filmmakers who have won two directing prizes without awarding a single prize from the Big Three.
Akira Kurosawa (1954–1959; 5 years)
Martin Scorsese (1986–1990; 4 years) - After Hours – Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director (1986)
- Goodfellas – Silver Lion for Best Direction (1990)

Emir Kusturica (1989–1998; 9 years) - Time of the Gypsies – Cannes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tribute | 1980 | The China Syndrome Missing | 1979 1982 | Glengarry Glen Ross | 1992 | 1979–1992 (13 years) | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The English Patient | 1997 | Certified Copy | 2010 | Three Colors: Blue | 1993 | 1993–2010 (17 years) | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- ^ a b Also won the Golden Leopard
- ^ Awarded as Special Palme d'Or
- ^ 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]
- ^ Shared with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Day-Lewis's final cut is the deepest". Henley Standard. February 5, 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ "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.

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