23/07/2024 - The Orizzonti competition will include 19 titles while the Orizzonti Extra competition will feature 9

19 titles in the Orizzonti competition and 9 in the Orizzonti Extra competition complete the official section announced by artistic director Alberto Barbera (read news) of the 81st Venice Film Festival (28 August - 7 September). The films will be evaluated by an international jury presided by American director and screenwriter Debra Granik and composed of her colleagues Ali Asgari, Soudade Kaadan, Christos Nikou, Gábor Reisz, Valia Santella and actress-director Tuva Novotny.

We begin with the second film by actor Valerio Mastandrea, Nonostante [+see also:
film review
film profile], which reflects in an unusual way on the mysterious passage between life and death. Quiet Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandros Avranas
film profile] marks the return of Alexandros Avranas (awarded at Venice 2013 for Miss Violence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandros Avranas
film profile]) and tackles the phenomenon of teenage children of immigrants who reject the country that welcomes them and isolate themselves from the world. Another return is that of Mehdi Barsaoui (awarded in Orizzonti 2019 for A Son [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehdi M Barsaoui and Sami B…
film profile]) who with his second feature Aïcha [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] tells the story of emancipation of a woman in Tunis. Happy Holidays [+see also:
film review
interview: Scandar Copti
film profile] by Scandar Copti (Oscar-nominated for Ajami [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) tells the secrets and lies of an Arab family in Israel, grappling with an unarmed but irreducible conflict between two divided communities.

My Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anne-Sophie Bailly
film profile] by Anne-Sophie Bailly is a French debut starring Laure Calamy as a single mother with a disabled son who wishes to get married which, assures Barbera, “avoids all the sentimental and rhetorical trappings associated with this kind of film”. Another French feature is L’attachement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carine Tardieu
film profile] by Carine Tardieu, in which Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is a solitary 50-year-old who becomes interested in the two sons of her neighbour, who has lost his wife.

Familia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Francesco Costabile reconstructs the real story of a family victimised by a violent father. The other Italian title is Diciannove [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Giovanni Tortorici, about a kid struggling to find his place in the world and looks for comfort in mediaeval literature and in antic music. Also entirely shot in Italy is Wishing on a Star [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] by Péter Kerekes (awarded in 2021 in Orizzonti for 107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile]), the portrait of an astrologer promising his clients to change their destinies if they agree to take a trip on their birthday.

From Spain arrives Marco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño
film profile] by Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi (already awarded in San Sebastián for Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño
film profile] and The Endless Trench [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño an…
film profile]) about a 90-year-old who had completely invented a glorious past for himself as an anti-Franco militant and who, according to Barbera, is worth seeing for his extraordinary actor, Eduard Fernández. From Romania, the debut feature The New Year that Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Bogdan Muresanu, a tragicomic choral tale set on the eve of the fall of the Ceaucescu regime. Written, directed and starring Murat Firatoglu, the Turkish film One of Those Days When Hemme Dies [+see also:
film review
film profile] is “an unexpected debut that shows that authentically independent cinema still exists”.

Also selected are the US debut film Familiar Touch by director and choreographer Sarah Friedland, and another debut film from South Africa, Carissa by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar. Of interest is Mistress Dispeller by Chinese-American filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, about a woman hired by betrayed wives to convince their lovers to leave their husbands, and Pavements by Alex Ross Perry, a docu-fiction dedicated to the cult rock band of the same name in the 1990s. And then, from Israel, Of Dogs and Men [+see also:
film review
interview: Dani Rosenberg
film profile] by Dani Rosenberg, filmed in the aftermath of the tragic 7 October 2023 events; from Nepal, Pooja, Sir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Deepak Rauniyar, Asha Magrati
film profile] by Deepak Rauniyar; and the coming-of-age film Happyend, the first narrative feature film by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s son, Neo Sora, who was already in Venice last year with the concert film dedicated to his father.

The Orizzonti Extra competition, now in its fourth edition, will open with September 5 [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Tim Fehlbaum, “a film of great tension” that follows an American television team during the 1972 Munich Olympics. The other selected titles include Vittoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Cassigoli and Ca…
film profile] by the duo Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman, about a Neapolitan couple who want to adopt a little girl despite already having three children (Nanni Moretti is among the producers); another Italian title is La storia del Frank e della Nina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], in which Paola Randi “tailors a pop language that subverts conventions and stereotypes to her irregular and eccentric teenagers”. Le Mohican [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Frédéric Farrucci
film profile] by Frédéric Farrucci follows a shepherd in Corsica who rebels against the local mafia that wants to speculate on his land. Also in the running are the Czech debut After Party [+see also:
film review
interview: Vojtěch Strakatý
film profile] by Vojtech Strakaty, a portrait of a generation abandoned to itself but capable of reacting; the debut of Iranian director who expatriated to Germany and former assistant to Jafar Panahi, The Witness [+see also:
film review
interview: Nader Saeivar
film profile] by Nader Saeivar; another Turkish debut, Edge of Night [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Türker Süer, which sees the contrast between two brothers faced with the suffocating military discipline inherited from their father; while from Egypt comes a social film in the form of satire, Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour, whose protagonist wants to have his dog emigrate to guarantee him a more comfortable future. Finally, King Ivory by John Swab, which presents the clashes between Mexican gangs, Indian gangs, common criminals and the police in Oklahoma.

The shorts in competition have also been unveiled.

The list of films:

Orizzonti

Nonostante [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Valerio Mastandrea (Italy) (opening film)
Quiet Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandros Avranas
film profile] - Alexandros Avranas (France/Germany/Sweden/Greece/Estonia/Finland)
My Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anne-Sophie Bailly
film profile] - Anne-Sophie Bailly (France)
Aïcha [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Mehdi M Barsaoui (Tunisia/France/Italy/Saudi Arabia/Qatar)
Happy Holidays [+see also:
film review
interview: Scandar Copti
film profile] - Scandar Copti (Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar)
Familia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Francesco Costabile (Italy)
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Murat Firatoglu (Turkey)
Familiar Touch - Sarah Friedland (USA)
Marco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño
film profile] - Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi (Spain)
Carissa - Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar (South Africa)
Wishing on a Star [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] - Péter Kerekes (Italy/Slovakia/Czech Republic/Austria/Croatia)
Mistress Dispeller - Elizabeth Lo (China/USA)
The New Year that Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Bogdan Muresanu (Romania/Serbia)
Pooja, Sir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Deepak Rauniyar, Asha Magrati
film profile] - Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal/United States/Norway)
Of Dogs and Men [+see also:
film review
interview: Dani Rosenberg
film profile] - Dani Rosenberg (Israel/Italy)
Pavements - Alex Ross Perry (USA)
Happyend - Neo Sora (Japan/USA)
L'attachement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carine Tardieu
film profile] - Carine Tardieu (France/Belgium)
Diciannove [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Giovanni Tortorici (Italy/UK)

Orizzonti Extra

September 5 [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Tim Fehlbaum (Germany/USA) (opening film)
Vittoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Cassigoli and Ca…
film profile] - Alessandro Cassigoli & Casey Kauffman (Italy)
Le Mohican [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Frédéric Farrucci
film profile] - Frédéric Farrucci (France)
Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo - Khaled Mansour (Egypt/Saudi Arabia)
La storia del Frank e della Nina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Paola Randi (Italy/Switzerland)
The Witness [+see also:
film review
interview: Nader Saeivar
film profile] - Nader Saeivar (Germany/Austria)
After Party [+see also:
film review
interview: Vojtěch Strakatý
film profile] - Vojtech Strakaty (Czech Republic)
Edge of Night [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Türker Süer (Germany/Turkey)
King Ivory - John Swab (USA)

Orizzonti Shorts

Almost Certainly False - Cansu Baydar (Turkey)
Shadows - Rand Beiruty (France/Jordan)
Il burattino e la balena - Roberto Catani (France/Italy)
René va alla guerra - Luca Ferri, Morgan Menegazzo, Mariachiara Pernisa (Italy)
The Poison Cat - Tian Guan (China)
Ajar - Atefeh Jalali (Iran)
Three Keenings - Oliver McGoldrick (UK/Ireland/USA)
My Mother Is a Cow - Moara Passoni (Brazil)
James - Andres Rodríguez (Guatemala/Mexico)
O - Rúnar Rúnarsson (Iceland/Sweden)
Who Loves the Sun - Arshia Shakiba (Canada)
Moon Lake - Jeannie Sui Wonders (USA)
Marion - Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine (France/UK)
F II - Lo stupore del mondo - Alessandro Rak (Italy) (out of competition)

(Translated from Italian)