The 10 titles competing in the 25th edition of the Lecce European Film Festival - unspooling in the Salentine capital between 9 and 16 November - hail from Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Norway, Greece and Portugal. In addition to the movies competing for the Golden Olive, we’ll see works gracing the “Cinema and Reality" section for Italian documentaries, those selected for the “Puglia Show” competition for short films directed by young Apulian helmers under the age of 35, those battling it out for the Mario Verdone and Emidio Greco awards, and the protagonists of European and Italian cinema: Ken Loach and Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

Selected by director Alberto La Monica together with Luigi La Monica, this year’s films in competition are: B.O.Y. - Bruises of Yesterday [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Søren Green, Breathing Underwater [+lire aussi :
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interview : Éric Lamhène et Rae Lyn Lee
fiche film] by Eric Lamhène, Clear Nights [+lire aussi :
interview : Paulo Filipe Monteiro
fiche film] by Paulo Filipe Monteiro, Drowning Dry [+lire aussi :
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interview : Laurynas Bareiša
fiche film] by Laurynas Bareiša, Jim’s Story [+lire aussi :
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interview : Arnaud et Jean-Marie Larrieu
fiche film] by Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, Martin Reads the Quran [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jurijs Saule
fiche film] by Jurijs Saule, Mother Mara [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Mirjana Karanovic, My Wonderful Stranger by Johanna Pyykkö, Three Days of Fish [+lire aussi :
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interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film] by Peter Hoogendoorn, and Wishbone [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Penny Panayotopoulou. The jury assessing them is presided over by Luciana Castellina and further composed of Pascal Diot, Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, Hanna Slak and Heather Stewart.

Six titles feature in the “Cinema and Reality" section, dedicated to Italian documentaries in regional premieres and devised to lend visibility to crucial social and cultural themes: Real [+lire aussi :
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interview : Adele Tulli
fiche film] by Adele Tulli, Arte vs guerra - Banksy and C215 in Borodyanka, Ukraine by Michele Pinto, I santi di carta by Enzo Pascal Pezzuto, L’ulivo e il baobab by Serena Porta, The Erasmus Generation by Vincent Imperato and La cura della giustizia by Vito Palmieri.

Ken Loach will be the protagonist of European cinema, forming the focus of a tribute curated by Massimo Causo, consisting of a retrospective of the films which best represent his career, a conversation with Luciana Castellina, and the awarding of the Golden Olive Lifetime Achievement trophy. Eights of his films will be presented: Riff Raff (1991), Raining Stones (1993), Land and Freedom (1995), Bread and Roses (2000), The Wind that Shakes the Barley [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ken Loach
interview : Rebecca O’Brien
fiche film] (2006), The Angels’ Share [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ken Loach
fiche film] (2012), I, Daniel Blake [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (2016), and The Old Oak [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (2023).

Giovanna Mezzogiorno, for her part, will be the protagonist of Italian cinema and the focus of a tribute revolving around six films from her multifaceted career as an actress and a presentation of her short film Unfitting (2024), which is her directorial debut on the topic of body shaming. Mezzogiorno will also meet with the audience and receive the Golden Olive Lifetime Achievement Award. Other movies set to be screened besides Unfitting are: Il viaggio della sposa by Sergio Rubini (1997), Del perduto amore by Michele Placido (1998), The Last Kiss by Gabriele Muccino (2001), Facing Windows [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ferzan Ozpetek
fiche film] by Ferzan Ozpetek (2003), Don’t Tell [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Cristina Comencini (2005), and Vincere [+lire aussi :
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interview : Cannes 2009 Marco Belloc…
interview : Filippo Timi - acteur
fiche film] by Marco Bellocchio (2009).

The 5 titles which are finalists for the 15th edition of the Mario Verdone Prize, as selected by Lecce Film Festival Director La Monica alongside the board of the Union of Italian Film Journalists (SNGCI) presided over by Laura Delli Colli, are: Gloria! [+lire aussi :
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interview : Margherita Vicario
fiche film] By Margherita Vicario, An Endless Sunday [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alain Parroni
fiche film] by Alain Parroni, True Blue [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Filippo Barbagallo, Oceans are the Real Continents [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tommaso Santambrogio
fiche film] by Tommaso Santambrogio, and Unbelievers [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Alessandro Marzullo. As always, the winner is set to be announced by Carlo, Luca and Silvia Verdone. This year will also see the Mario Verdone Special Prize awarded to Brando De Sica for Mimì – Prince of Darkness [+lire aussi :
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fiche film].

Last but not least, Lecce will also host the showcase dedicated to the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, boasting a selection of graduate films by students from various colleges within Italy’s National Film School, the regional premiere of a restored version of Nanni Moretti’s Ecce Bombo, and a tribute to Tyrone Power, 110 years since his birth.