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When and where was the first major film festival founded?

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Director Sir David Lean sits atop a ladder beside a film camera, surrounded by crew and equipment on the set of Doctor Zhivago (1965) under a blue sky. — film David Lean (sitting atop a ladder) during the filming of *Doctor Zhivago* (1965).

The first major film festival was founded in Venice, Italy, in 1932.12

Known as the Venice Film Festival, it was established as the Esposizione d’Arte Cinematografica (Exhibition of Cinematographic Arts) and held as part of the Venice Biennale. While the Biennale itself was founded in 1895 to promote various arts, the film festival was added to its programming in 1932. The inaugural event was noncompetitive, but it quickly evolved into an annual, competitive gathering that became a significant international marketplace for the film industry.342