30/05/2025 - The 21st edition of the gathering dedicated to documentary and fiction cinema will unfold in Bologna between 6 and 16 June

Joshua Oppenheimer is amongst the guests of the 21st edition of Biografilm, in Bologna from 6 to 16 June with artistic direction from Chiara Liberti and Massimo Benvegnù. The acclaimed American filmmaker based in Copenhagen will present his debut fiction feature The End [+see also:
film review
interview: Joshua Oppenheimer
film profile], a post-apocalyptic allegory about the devastation of modernity presented in Toronto and San Sebastián. With 73 titles in its programme – 21 of which are world premieres – the gathering will open with the international premiere (its second screening after Cannes) of Orwell: 2+2=5 by the great Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, in attendance, and will close with The Encampments (United States) by Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritske.

The International Competition gives space to ten of the most recent European documentary productions. Canone effimero [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy) by Gianluca e Massimiliano De Serio, Special Mention at the Forum of the Berlinale, offers a trip in search of an invisible Italy. An Italian-French co-production, The Castle [+see also:
interview: Danny Biancardi, Virginia N…
film profile] by Danny Biancardi, Stefano La Rosa and Virginia Nardelli, follows three 11-year-olds living in Danisinni, an isolated neighbourhood of Palermo. With Fantastic Family (Denmark), her debut film in international premiere, Nicoline Skotte returns to a family trauma by inviting her separated parents to meet again. The story of two Danish brothers who find themselves involved in a feud for their grand-father’s heritage is at the centre of The Father, The Sons and The Holy Spirit (Denmark) by Christian Sønderby Jepsen. Coming from Norway, the Netherlands and the USA is Flophouse America [+see also:
film review
interview: Monica Strømdahl
film profile], a debut work by Monica Strømdahl which follows three years in the life of a 12-year-old with alcoholic parents (Special Mention in competition at the 2025 CPH:DOX), and from the heart of the Brazilian favelas arrives Balomania [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Denmark/Spain/Brazil), from Danish-Spanish filmmaker Sissel Morell Dargis.

In The Gardener, the Buddhist & the Spy (Norway/Germany/UK) by Håvard Bustnes, an ex TV producer pretends to be a journalist to infiltrate an anti-asbestos activist group. In Girls & Gods [+see also:
interview: Arash T Riahi, Verena Soltiz
film profile] (Austria/Switzerland) by Arash T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz, the feminist activist and leader of Femen Inna Shevchenko meets women who challenge or reform religion. With Home Game [+see also:
film review
interview: Lidija Zelovic
film profile] (the Netherlands), Lidija Zelović portrays her family displaced in Holland from 1993, fleeing a Sarajevo devastated by the war. In The Last Ambassador (Austria), Natalie Halla focuses on Manizha Bakhtari, Afghani ambassador in Vienna, who continues to fight for the rights of Afghani women. In Mr. Nobody Against Putin [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Denmark/Czech Republic), David Borenstein and Pavel Ilyich Talankin show how primary schools in all of Russia have transformed into recruitment stations for the war. With Toro (Italy/Germany), Rocco Di Mento addresses a profound and ironic trip about male friendship.

The Biografilm Italia section presenta a selection of ten of the most interesting Italian documentary productions or co-productions, all world premieres. Amongst those, it is worth pointing out A luci spente by Mattia Epifani, about Loris Stecca, who in the 1980 was the youngest Italian boxing champion and today, at 65, has served a condamnation for attempted murder and work as a garbage collector.

Beyond Fiction is the section dedicated to fiction and hybrid films, and will present amongst others Alpha [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Julia Ducournau (France/Belgium), which was in competition in Cannes, Girl America [+see also:
film review
interview: Viktor Tauš
film profile] by Viktor Tauš (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Switzerland), which was in competition at the  Black Nights Festival in Tallinn, and Aïcha [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Tunisia/France/Italy/Saudi Arabia/Qatar) by Mehdi Barsaoui, which was in Orizzonti in Venice.

Bio to B – Industry Days, finally, is the audiovisual market that Biografilm dedicated to film and TV players, offering an annual rendez-vous for sales, options, acquisitions, networking, updates and training, made up of two core sides: Industry Days | Doc, two days dedicated to European documentary professionals, and Industry Days | Drama, for the editorial and audiovisual sector.

(Translated from Italian)