31/10/2024 - International and Italian documentaries and special guests like Albert Serra, Christine Angot, Pietro Marcello and Alice Rohrwacher will all take centre stage in Florence between 2 and 10 November

The 65th edition of the Festival dei Popoli, the oldest gathering in Europe dedicated to international documentary films, is set to unspool between 2 and 10 November in Florence, opened by an Italian premiere of A Flower of Mine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the first film written by, directed by and starring author Paolo Cognetti, which was presented in a world premiere in Locarno and is due to hit Italian cinemas on 25 November. The festival will then proceed with Qui è altrove by Gianfranco Pannone, a story blending theatre and prison set in a Volterra-based correctional facility, and A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, homing in on a small farm in a Norwegian forest (in the Habitat section). 

Nine titles will grace the International Feature Film Competition, all of which are European co-productions set to be assessed by a jury composed of director Martin Solà (Argentina), fellow director Kumiana Novakova (Croatia) and producer Michela Pini (Switzerland). The movies in question are The Flats [+see also:
film review
interview: Alessandra Celesia
film profile] by Alessandra Celesia, which is set in Belfast and which triumphed in Docs Ireland and CPH:DOX 2024; A Family [+see also:
film review
film profile] by French writer and playwright Christine Angot, which is a radical documentary on the subject of incest which was selected for the Berlinale’s Encounters line-up in 2024 (the director will also be meeting the public); British film Mother Vera [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson, which ventures into the world of a young orthodox nun and which competed in Visions du Réel 2024, as did Kamay [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Afghan directors lyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran, following a Hazara family after the suicide of one of the daughters; Fuga [+see also:
film review
interview: Bénédicte Lienard and Mary …
film profile] by Mary Jiménez and Bénédicte Lienard, depicting a journey in search of the ghosts of Peru’s past; Bogancloch [+see also:
film review
interview: Ben Rivers
film profile] by Ben Rivers, revolving around a modern-day mystic who lives in harmony with nature’s rhythms (which competed in Locarno); Pink Dolphin by Didier D'Abreu (France, Brazil), exploring an Amazonian legend; Terra incognita [+see also:
film review
interview: Enrico Masi
film profile] by Enrico Masi (Italy), screening in a world premiere and focusing on a clash unfolding in the Alps between a family living without electricity and an atomic fusion plant in the construction phase, and German work Angry Spirits by Iris Pakulla, screening in a world premiere and exploring the threats hanging over indigenous peoples in Mongolia.

The Italian Competition will foreground 7 documentaries, starting with a world premiere of Cose che accadono sulla terra by Michele Cinque, painting a portrait of a family of modern cowboys; a first ever screening is also on the cards for In perpetuo by Federico Barassi, homing in on an ancient fishing practice, i trabucchi; rights at work are the focus of Perla Sardella’s Portuali, set in Genova; Pensando ad Anna by Tomaso Aramini is a flashback to the Seventies and left-wing terrorism (Werner Herzog’s long-time collaborator Peter Zeitlinger heads up photography); Honeydew by Marco Bergonzi and Michael Petrolini takes us to a Californian resort at the end of the ‘70s; Valentina and the MUOSters [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Francesca Scalisi is set in a delipidated, rural Sicilian village, while Tineret by Nicolò Ballante catapults us into the life of a Moldovan boy living in the outskirts of Rome.

Also worth a mention, in the Doc Highlights section, is the world premiere of To Gaza by Catherine Libert, Fred Piet and Hana Al Bayaty; the Italian premiere of Mati Diop’s Dahomey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which won the Golden Bear at the most recent Berlinale, and Natale fuori orario, Gianfranco Firriolo’s new movie penned by musician Vinicio Capossela. Catalan director Albert Serra will be a special guest at this year’s edition of the festival, presenting the Italian premiere of his movie Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] which just scooped the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Pietro Marcello and Alice Rohrwacher will lead the panel discussion “Italian Documentaries, leaning towards fiction?”, and homage will be paid to Hungarian director Judit Elek by way of a retrospective. Novelties in this year’s festival edition will include “Feminist Frames”, which is a selection of works directed by female filmmakers along the theme of militancy, and “Habitat”, comprising documentaries dedicated to the future climate emergency.

Last but not least, we’ll see Doc at Work – Industry, a space dedicated to works-in-progress produced by Italy, which is unspooling 6 – 8 November.

(Translated from Italian)