A rich and varied “festival within the festival”, with screenings, special events, chats with the auteurs, and moments to reflect on creativity, the European identity and cinema itself. This is what is in store at the 15th edition of the Giornate degli Autori, the prestigious and lively independent section helmed by Giorgio Gosetti, which will unspool in parallel with the Venice Film Festival from 29 August-8 September 2018. 

There are 11 films in competition, including feature debuts, sophomore works and titles by seasoned filmmakers, half of which are directed by women. Proceedings will get under way with Rithy Panh (a candidate for the Oscar in 2013 with The Missing Picture [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]) and his Cambodian-French co-production Graves Without a Name [+lire aussi :
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interview : Rithy Panh
fiche film], which uses the story of a man who goes off in search of the graves of his relatives wiped out by the Khmer Rouge to question the meaning of memory. Keep Going [+lire aussi :
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interview : Joachim Lafosse
fiche film] by Joachim Lafosse (Belgium-France) is a female-orientated western starring Virgine Efira, and is the first literary adaptation (of the novel of the same name by Laurent Mauvignier) for the director of Loving Without Reason [+lire aussi :
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interview : Joachim Lafosse
fiche film] and After Love [+lire aussi :
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interview : Joachim Lafosse
fiche film]. France’s Claire Burger is making her debut as a “solo” director, following the award-winning Party Girl [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marie Amachoukeli, Claire …
fiche film], with Real Love [+lire aussi :
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interview : Claire Burger
fiche film], the tale of the life of a man (played by Bouli Lanners) who, in the absence of his wife, must take care of their two crisis-riddled teenage daughters. Meanwhile, Italy’s Valerio Mieli is returning to Venice, following 2009’s Ten Winters [+lire aussi :
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interview : Michele Riondino - acteur
interview : Valerio Mieli
fiche film], with Ricordi? [+lire aussi :
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making of
interview : Valerio Mieli
fiche film], a lengthy love story recounted through memories, and “a fantastic journey through each of our minds”, as described by general delegate Gosetti. The movie is toplined by Luca Marinelli.

Among the other European titles in competition, we should mention Austria’s Joy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Sudabeh Mortezai
fiche film] by Sudabeh Mortezai, a Nigerian woman’s journey to freedom after being forced into prostitution, and the French-Swiss feature debut P.E.A.R.L. [+lire aussi :
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interview : Elsa Amiel
fiche film] by Elsa Amiel, set in the world of female bodybuilding. The Brazilian title Domingo [+lire aussi :
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interview : Clara Linhart, Fellipe Bar…
fiche film], co-produced by France, is a surreal tragicomedy co-directed by Clara Linhart and Fellipe Barbosa (Gabriel and the Mountain [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]), while a Belgian-Canadian film will bring the Giornate to a close, out of competition: Emma Peeters [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nicole Palo
fiche film] by Nicole Palo, a comedy that adopts an original and ironic approach to dealing with the topic of the malaise that affects thirty-somethings. 

Standing out among the special events is the tribute to Germany’s Alexander Kluge, born in 1932, whose Happy Lamento [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alexander Kluge
fiche film], a movie that Gosetti brands as “surprising, astounding and juvenile”, will be presented as a world premiere, and then there will be My Own Good [+lire aussi :
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interview : Pippo Mezzapesa
fiche film] by Italy’s Pippo Mezzapesa, the Cypriot title The Ghost of Peter Sellers [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paul Iacovou
fiche film] by Peter Medak and the German production Why Are We Creative? [+lire aussi :
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interview : Hermann Vaske
fiche film], in which Hermann Vaske poses the titular question to artists, intellectuals, Nobel Prize winners and Oscar winners over a 30-year period. 

This year’s revelation, Stefano Savona, who was awarded at Cannes for his Samouni Road [+lire aussi :
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interview : Stefano Savona
fiche film], will liven up one of the “Notti veneziane” at the Villa degli Autori, which this year has been conceived as an informal space for dialogue and reflection with the auteurs, be it cinema-related or revolving around more personal stories. The Miu Miu Women’s Tales at this edition are directed by Dakota Fanning, making her directorial debut, and Haifaa Al-Mansour (Wadjda [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]).

Lastly, we mustn’t neglect to mention that the 28 young Europeans selected as part of the 28 Times Cinema programme, organised in conjunction with Cineuropa, will be handing out the 2018 GdA Director’s Award. For the first time ever, this year’s jury will be chaired by an Italian director, Jonas Carpignano, who was his country’s candidate for the most recent edition of the Oscars with A Ciambra [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jonas Carpignano
fiche film].

Here is the complete list of films in the 2018 Giornate degli Autori: 

Competition 

Graves Without a Name [+lire aussi :
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interview : Rithy Panh
fiche film] - Rithy Panh (Cambodia/France)
Real Love [+lire aussi :
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interview : Claire Burger
fiche film] - Claire Burger (France)
Keep Going [+lire aussi :
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interview : Joachim Lafosse
fiche film] - Joachim Lafosse (Belgium/France)
Domingo [+lire aussi :
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interview : Clara Linhart, Fellipe Bar…
fiche film] - Clara Linhart, Fellipe Barbosa (Brazil/France)
Joy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Sudabeh Mortezai
fiche film] - Sudabeh Mortezai (Austria)
José - Li Cheng (Guatemala/USA)
Mafax - Bassam Jarbawi (Palestine/USA/Qatar)
P.E.A.R.L. [+lire aussi :
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interview : Elsa Amiel
fiche film] - Elsa Amiel (France/Switzerland)
Ricordi? [+lire aussi :
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making of
interview : Valerio Mieli
fiche film] - Valerio Mieli (Italy/France)
Three Adventures of Brooke - Yuan Qing (China/Malaysia)
Ville Neuve - Felix Oufour-Laperrière (Canada)

Out of competition

Emma Peeters [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nicole Palo
fiche film] - Nicole Palo (Belgium/Canada)

Special events

As If We Were Tuna - Francesco Zizola (USA/Italy) (short film)
Dead Women Walking - Hagar Ben-Asher (USA, in cooperation with the Tribeca Film Festival)
Goodbye Marilyn - Maria Di Razza (Italy) (short film)
Happy Lamento [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alexander Kluge
fiche film] - Alexander Kluge (Germany)
My Own Good [+lire aussi :
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interview : Pippo Mezzapesa
fiche film] - Pippo Mezzapesa (Italy)
The Ghost of Peter Sellers [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paul Iacovou
fiche film] - Peter Medak (Cyprus)
Why Are We Creative? [+lire aussi :
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interview : Hermann Vaske
fiche film] - Hermann Vaske (Germany) 

Notti veneziane

“Carte blanche for Stefano Savona” 

Theatre at Work [+lire aussi :
interview : Massimiliano Pacifico
fiche film] - Massimiliano Pacifico (Italy)
I villani [+lire aussi :
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interview : Daniele De Michele
fiche film] - Daniele de Michele (Italy)
L’unica lezione - Peter Marcias (Italy) (short film)
One Ocean - Anne De Carbuccia (Italy)  (short film)

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

Hello Apartment - Dakota Fanning (Italy/USA) (short film)
The Wedding Singer’s Daughter - Haifaa Al-Mansour (Italy/USA) (short film)