19/07/2024 - The 28 titles on the line-up of the storied independent and parallel section of the Venice Film Festival have been revealed

The 21st Giornate degli Autori has set a record for female presence: 16 of the 25 titles in the programme this year are directed by women. "As demonstrated by the image chosen for our poster, which shows a woman walking on a tightrope stretched above the world," explained artistic director Gaia Furrer at the programme presentation today in Rome, “the protagonists of this edition are the tightrope walkers of life, those who move forward and keep their balance on a hypothetical razor-thin wire, trying to maintain a certain lightness despite the world imploding.”

Ten films in competition (amongst which five are debut features), one out-of-competition closing film, five special events and nine Venetian Nights, as well as three short films, make up the 2024 programme of the autonomous and parallel section of the Venice Film Festival, on the Lido from 28 August-7 September. “Spectacular films, funnier than their plots might suggest, and above all many discoveries,” specified general delegate Giorgio Gosetti. Twenty-seven nationalities are represented in total, with the Dominican Republic in competition for the first time: Sugar Island [+see also:
film review
interview: Johanné Gómez Terrero
film profile] by Johanné Gómez Terrero, co-produced with Spain, starts from the unwanted pregnancy of a 13-year-old to analyse the colonial roots of the sugar industry and the role of spirituality in liberation movements; the protagonist of Manas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marianna Brennand
film profile] by Marianna Brennand is also 13 and, in the heart of the Amazonian forest, she rebels against family abuse suffered for generations (the Dardenne brothers are associate producers on the film). Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass [+see also:
film review
interview: Quay Brothers
film profile] by the Quay brothers is, instead, a singular mix of stop-motion and live action, inspired by the book by Polish author Bruno Schulz, in which time and reality decompose; Super Happy Forever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kohei Igarashi
film profile] by Kohei Igarashi also revolves around time and its irreversibility, a love story told not while it is lived, but before and after.

Also in competition are the Georgian film The Antique [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rusudan Glurjidze
film profile] by Rusudan Glurjidze, in which two lovers lose each other and meet again in San Petersburg in 2006, during the forced deportation of Georgians by Russia; the German-produced Iranian film Boomerang [+see also:
film review
interview: Shahab Fotouhi
film profile] by Shahab Fotouhi, a sociological snapshot of emotional ties in modern Tehran, edited by Georgian director Alexandre Koberidze; The Book of Joy [+see also:
film review
interview: Camille Lugan
film profile] by Camille Lugan (previously assistant director for Jacques Audiard), in which a young woman struggles between good and evil, embodied respectively by Raphaël Thiery and Asia Argento; Alpha. [+see also:
film review
interview: Jan-Willem van Ewijk
film profile], the third film by Dutch filmmaker Jan-Willem Van Ewijk, a psychoanalytical thriller about a father and son in the Swiss Alps; To Kill a Mongolian Horse is the pictorial debut of Mongolian director Jiang Xiaoxuan. The only Italian title in competition is Taxi Monamour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ciro De Caro
film profile], which marks the return of Ciro De Caro to the Giornate (after ​​Giulia - Una selvaggia voglia di libertà [+see also:
trailer
interview: Ciro De Caro
film profile] in 2021), about two women, lost but determined to live on their own terms, starring Rosa Palasciano and Ukrainian actress Yeva Sai. Closing the festival and out of competition is Isabella Torre’s debut feature, Basileia [+see also:
film review
interview: Isabella Torre
film profile], an atmospheric film about men hunting for treasure, scored by Andrea De Sica and edited by Jonas Carpignano.

The five special events include the new film by Federica De Giacomo, The Open Couple [+see also:
trailer
interview: Federica Di Giacomo e Chiar…
film profile], adapted from the show by Franca Rame and Dario Fo; Peaches Goes Bananas [+see also:
film review
interview: Marie Losier
film profile] by Marie Losier, a portrait of the titular iconic feminist singer and performer; Possibility of Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Kovačević
film profile], in which Mladen Kovacevic reflects on what it means to live in an earthly paradise (Bali) that is culturally far away. The road-trip documentary Soul of the Desert by Monica Taboada Tapia follows the oldest Colombian transgender woman; and Sudan, Remember Us [+see also:
interview: Hind Meddeb
film profile] by Hind Meddeb, about the war in Sudan and the resilient young people fighting against oppression.

The Venetian Nights section is fully dedicated to Italian cinema, with nine titles, three of which are fiction and six documentaries. Amongst those, The Eye of the Hen [+see also:
interview: Antonietta De Lillo
film profile], a self-portrait by Antonietta De Lillo about the difficulties of being a female writer in Italy; Hold On Miss! Isabella Ducrot Unlimited [+see also:
interview: Monica Stambrini
film profile] by Monica Stambrini, a portrait of one of the most sought-after artists in the world and for whom “the happy life begins at 60”; A Man Fell [+see also:
interview: Giovanni C Lorusso
film profile] by Giovanni C Lorusso, shot in the Palestinian refugee camp in Sabra, Lebanon.

A novelty this year is the Confronti space, where authors’ rights, the rights of young people, artificial intelligence and the value of memory will be discussed. Amongst the guests are writer Tahar Ben Jalloun (also honorary president of the 13th Bookciak, Azione! Award, a pre-opening event of the Giornate) and filmmaker-cartoonist Marjane Satrapi.

Here is the list of titles participating in the 21st Giornate degli Autori:

Competition

Alpha. [+see also:
film review
interview: Jan-Willem van Ewijk
film profile] - Jan-Willem van Ewijk (Netherlands/Switzerland/Slovenia)
The Antique [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rusudan Glurjidze
film profile] - Rusudan Glurjidze (Georgia/Switzerland/Finland/Germany)
Boomerang [+see also:
film review
interview: Shahab Fotouhi
film profile] - Shahab Fotouhi (Germany/Iran)
Manas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marianna Brennand
film profile] - Marianna Brennand (Brazil/Portugal)
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass [+see also:
film review
interview: Quay Brothers
film profile] - Quay Brothers (UK/Poland/Germany)
The Book of Joy [+see also:
film review
interview: Camille Lugan
film profile] - Camille Lugan (France)
Super Happy Forever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kohei Igarashi
film profile] - Kohei Igarashi (France/Japan)
Sugar Island [+see also:
film review
interview: Johanné Gómez Terrero
film profile] - Johanné Gómez Terrero (Dominican Republic/Spain)
Taxi Monamour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ciro De Caro
film profile] - Ciro De Caro (Italy)
To Kill a Mongolian Horse - Xiaoxuan Jiang (Malaysia/USA/Hong Kong/South Korea/Japan)

Out of Competition

Basileia [+see also:
film review
interview: Isabella Torre
film profile] - Isabella Torre (Italy/Sweden/Denmark) (closing film)

Special Events

Soul of the Desert - Mónica Taboada-Tapia (Colombia/Brazil)
The Open Couple [+see also:
trailer
interview: Federica Di Giacomo e Chiar…
film profile] - Federica Di Giacomo (Italy)
Kora - Cláudia Varejão (Portugal) (short film)
Possibility of Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Kovačević
film profile] - Mladen Kovačević (Serbia)
Peaches Goes Bananas [+see also:
film review
interview: Marie Losier
film profile] - Marie Losier (France/Belgium)
Sudan, Remember Us [+see also:
interview: Hind Meddeb
film profile] - Hind Meddeb (France/Tunisia/Qatar)

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

#27 I Am the Beauty of Your Beauty, I Am the Fear of Your Fear - Chui Mui Tan (Malaysia/Italy) (short film)
#28 The Miu Miu Affaire - Laura Citarella (Argentina) (short film)

Venetian Nights

A Man Fell [+see also:
interview: Giovanni C Lorusso
film profile] - Giovanni C Lorusso (Italy)
Bosco grande [+see also:
interview: Giuseppe Schillaci
film profile] - Giuseppe Schillaci (France/Italy)
Desert Suite [+see also:
interview: Fabrizio Ferraro
film profile] - Fabrizio Ferraro (Italy)
The Eye of the Hen [+see also:
interview: Antonietta De Lillo
film profile] - Antonietta De Lillo (Italy)
Almost Home [+see also:
interview: Carolina Pavone
film profile] - Carolina Pavone (Italy)
High Stakes - A Night in the Ward [+see also:
interview: Giovanni Dota
film profile] - Giovanni Dota (Italy)
Sempre [+see also:
interview: Luciana Fina
film profile] - Luciana Fina (Portugal)
Hold On Miss! Isabella Ducrot Unlimited [+see also:
interview: Monica Stambrini
film profile] - Monica Stambrini (Italy)
Vakhim [+see also:
interview: Francesca Pirani
film profile] - Francesca Pirani (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)