27/07/2023 - The independent, parallel section of the Venice Film Festival is turning 20 and will celebrate with Isabelle Huppert and Teona Strugar Mitevska, among others, on the Lido from 30 August-9 September

Everything is set for the 20^th edition of the Giornate degli Autori, the ever-ebullient independent and parallel section of the Venice Film Festival, which is slated to unspool on the Lido from 30 August-9 September. Dedicated to Andrea Purgatori, the revered investigative journalist and president of the Giornate, who passed away a few days ago, and to director Citto Maselli, who founded this very section in 2004, this year’s edition has lined up ten films in competition, seven special events, eight titles in Venetian Nights, an evening devoted to Jean-Marc Vallée and to Quebecois cinema, and four special screenings, besides a series of meetings and chats with the auteurs.

A decent number of debut films, myriad women behind and in front of the camera, a strong contingent from Western Europe and a huge variety of styles, from the most radical to more “pop” formats, make up the rich selection (presented in Rome earlier today by artistic director Gaia Furrer together with general delegate Giorgio Gosetti), which sees various auteurs venturing out of their comfort zones and making films in foreign countries and languages. This certainly applies to the title that will open the international competition, Oceans Are the Real Continents [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tommaso Santambrogio
film profile], the feature debut by Milan-born director Tommaso Santambrogio (who, in the past, served as a member of the 27 Times Cinema jury), filmed in Cuba with local actors, which takes a poetic look at the shattered hopes and dreams of a country in the midst of a migrant crisis. Meanwhile, France’s Élise Girard relocates to Japan for her third feature, Sidonie in Japan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Élise Girard
film profile], starring Isabelle Huppert as a woman who goes to the other side of the world to find the direction and identity she has lost.

Existential questions, as well as the value of empathy and giving something back to others, lie at the heart of various titles, such as Milk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefanie Kolk
film profile] by Dutch first-time director Stefanie Kolk, in which the mother of a stillborn child decides to donate her milk to other mums, and Quitter la nuit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Girard
film profile] by Belgium’s Delphine Girard, a police investigation into a rape case that champions the redemptive power of a female friendship (that between a victim and a policewoman), while Sobre todo de noche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Víctor Iriarte
film profile] by Basque helmer Víctor Iriarte, starring Lola Dueñas and Ana Torrent, sees a biological mother and a foster mother join forces against bureaucracy.

Other titles that talk about friendships and artistic alliances are Morocco’s Backstage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Afef Ben Mahmoud, Khalil Be…
film profile] by Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane, a “dancing” road movie that delves into the life of a contemporary dance troupe, complete with all its secrets, confessions and petty vendettas, and Greece’s The Summer With Carmen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zacharias Mavroeidis
film profile] by Zacharias Mavroeidis, a queer comedy in which two pals lounging on the beach plan to make a film and wonder about the meaning of various relationships, including the ones with their pets. And then, in competition, there’s Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant by debuting Canadian director Ariane Louis-Seize, starring an empathetic little vampire who refuses to kill in order to feed; Snow in Midsummer by Chong Keat Aun, which looks back at a crucial and little-known moment in Malaysian history; as well as Japan’s Following the Sound by Kyoshi Sugita, in which a lonely girl scrutinises the pain in strangers’ faces. Out of competition, there’s the closing film from the USA, Coup! by Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman, where a group of people lock themselves in a country house during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.

Among the special events, 21 Days Until the End of the World [+see also:
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] by Teona Strugar Mitevska sees the director of God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] ask: “What would you do if you only had 21 days left to live?”; The Outpost [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Edoardo Morabito
film profile] by Edoardo Morabito centres on an eco-warrior who dreams of organising a Pink Floyd concert in the Amazon in order to save the rainforest; and The Zola Experience [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianluca Matarrese
film profile] by Gianluca Matarrese homes in on the lives of a couple of actors who stage Emile Zola’s L’assommoir, gradually blending reality and fiction. Also worth noting are Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] by Lina Soualem, in which the daughter of Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass recalls her mother’s exile, and Photophobia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pe…
film profile] by Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík, which tells the story of the war in Ukraine from a child’s point of view.

Lastly, among the (all-Italian) titles in Venetian Nights are Anna [+see also:
interview: Marco Amenta
film profile] by Marco Amenta, With the Grace of God [+see also:
interview: Alessandro Roia
film profile] by actor Alessandro Roia, Fragments of a Life Loved [+see also:
trailer
interview: Chloé Barreau
film profile] by Chloé Barreau, Le mie poesie non cambieranno il mondo [+see also:
trailer
interview: Annalena Benini, Francesco …
film profile] by Annalena Benini and Francesco Piccolo, and Flesh and Bronze [+see also:
trailer
interview: Fabio Mollo, Alessandra Cat…
film profile] by Fabio Mollo and Alessandra Cataleta. The special screenings include Nina of the Wolves [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonio Pisu
film profile] by Antonio Pisu.

Here is the full selection of the 20^th Giornate degli Autori:

Competition

Oceans Are the Real Continents [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tommaso Santambrogio
film profile] - Tommaso Santambrogio (Italy/Cuba) (opening film)
Milk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefanie Kolk
film profile] - Stefanie Kolk (Netherlands)
Sidonie in Japan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Élise Girard
film profile] - Élise Girard (France/Germany/Japan/Switzerland)
Sobre todo de noche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Víctor Iriarte
film profile] - Víctor Iriarte (Spain/Portugal/France)
Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant - Ariane Louis-Seize (Canada)
Snow in Midsummer - Chong Keat Aun (Malaysia/Taiwan/Singapore)
Backstage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Afef Ben Mahmoud, Khalil Be…
film profile] - Afef Ben Mahmoud, Khalil Benkirane (Morocco/Tunisia/Belgium/France/Qatar/Norway/Saudi Arabia)
The Summer With Carmen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zacharias Mavroeidis
film profile] - Zacharias Mavroeidis (Greece)
Following the Sound - Kyoshi Sugita (Japan)
Quitter la nuit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Girard
film profile] - Delphine Girard (Belgium/Canada/France)

Out of Competition

Coup! - Austin Stark, Joseph Schuman (USA) (closing film)

Special Events

The Sun Will Rise [+see also:
interview: Ayat Najafi
film profile] - Ayat Najafi (France/Iran)
Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] - Lina Soualem (France/Palestine/Belgium/Qatar)
Photophobia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pe…
film profile] - Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Ukraine)
This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet - Céline Sciamma (Italy/France) (short film)
21 Days Until the End of the World [+see also:
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] - Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia)
The Outpost [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Edoardo Morabito
film profile] - Edoardo Morabito (Italy/Brazil)
The Zola Experience [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianluca Matarrese
film profile] - Gianluca Matarrese (France/Italy)

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

Eye Two Times Mouth - Lila Avilés (short film)
Stane - Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (short film)

Venetian Nights

Across [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Irene Dorigotti (Italy)
Anna [+see also:
interview: Marco Amenta
film profile] - Marco Amenta (Italy)
Casablanca [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Adriano Valerio (France/Italy)
With the Grace of God [+see also:
interview: Alessandro Roia
film profile] - Alessandro Roia (Italy)
Fragments of a Life Loved [+see also:
trailer
interview: Chloé Barreau
film profile] - Chloé Barreau (Italy)
The Invention of Snow [+see also:
trailer
interview: Vittorio Moroni
film profile] - Vittorio Moroni (Italy)
Le mie poesie non cambieranno il mondo [+see also:
trailer
interview: Annalena Benini, Francesco …
film profile] - Annalena Benini, Francesco Piccolo (Italy)
Flesh and Bronze [+see also:
trailer
interview: Fabio Mollo, Alessandra Cat…
film profile] - Fabio Mollo, Alessandra Cataleta (Italy)

Special Screenings

Nina of the Wolves [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonio Pisu
film profile] - Antonio Pisu (Italy)

Special Screenings/Auteur Chats

C.R.A.Z.Y. - Jean-Marc Vallée (Canada)
The Writer in the Trees [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Duccio Chiarini (Italy/France)
Parola ai giovani - Angelo Bozzolini (Italy)
Il popolo delle donne [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Yuri Ancarani (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)