19th Giornate degli Autori Lineup

The 19th edition of Giornate degli Autori, headed by President Andrea Purgatori, working alongside the Board of Directors, General Delegate Giorgio Gosetti, and Artistic Director Gaia Furrer, will run from August 31st to September 10th, during the 79th Venice Film Festival.

Founded in 2004, the brainchild of Francesco Maselli and Emidio Greco, Giornate degli Autori is promoted by ANAC and 100autori and made possible by the unwavering support of the MIC’s General Directorate for Cinema and the joint efforts of partners such as Miu Miu, SIAE, BNL, the European Parliament’s Lux Audience Award, and the streaming platform MUBI.

Independent sidebar organized in concert with the Venice Biennale, Giornate 2022 once again presents 10 films in the running for the GdA Director’s Award, in addition to the closing film and five special events which are also world premieres. The Official Selection features 19 countries, 6 women directors and 5 first films. Nine titles are on the lineup for Venetian Nights, the alternative showcase of auteur Italian films that is co-organized with Isola Edipo at the Sala Laguna.

The Poster

With a golden leap, drawn for us by Italian artist Rä di Martino, designer of our poster this year, based on an image from his series Allunati, the 19th edition of Giornate degli Autori shoots for the moon as well, dreaming of a landing on the satellite that harbors earthlings’ hopes and dreams. And it does so by way of a poetic leap that speaks of the urgency to move forward, explore lands unknown, sound out new chances. This leap of ours is an active, political act, just as the films on our lineup are: political themselves, and full of yearning.

The Official Selection

The Official Selection is presented by Artistic Director Gaia Furrer and the following is an excerpt from her statement; if you wish to read full statement go official site here.

"As we sorted through the film entries for this year’s program, we did indeed discover and seize on works about separation, suffering and all the ills of this world, yet the same works stress cooperation and fellowship. Stories that are about society, personal or fantastical tales, inspired by reality, or an imaginary version of it, which still succeed in providing an original take on contemporary life.

Probing political issues or reworking the past; abiding by the status quo or attempting to catapult oneself into a different future; the solitude of human beings, hence the search for alliances: these are the cornerstones of our program.

The above are themes that transcend content; they underlie the practice of making films and making festivals. All of Giornate’s sections – the Competition, Special Events, and Venetian Nights, to which it is our custom to add Miu Miu Women’s Tales – dialogue with each other, in a common discourse that is ongoing. We offer numerous films that are co-directed, reinforcing the idea of cinema as a practice, and in the plural. Gender parity on the program reflects the evolution of women filmmakers, finally free to express themselves and, above all, gain access to that intricate economic machine that is cinema. Lastly, we’ll have the honor of welcoming to our ranks a jury president of the stature of Céline Sciamma, whose filmmaking has shaken our society to its foundations and laid out new directions for us to take."

As mentioned, Céline Sciamma will be presiding over the special jury made up of 27 young European cinephiles on ‘campus’ at Giornate to assign the GdA Director’s Award, and coordinated by the Director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Karel Och. This is the only official award for Giornate degli Autori, the independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival that is promoted by the Italian filmmakers’ associations. Sciamma will be presiding over the special jury made up of 27 young European cinephiles on ‘campus’ at Giornate to assign the GdA Director’s Award, and coordinated by the Director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Karel Och. This is the only official award for Giornate degli Autori, the independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival that is promoted by the Italian filmmakers’ associations.

Competition
Opening Film: Dirty Difficult Dangerous, Wissam Charaf, France, Italy and Lebanon
Bentu, Salvatore Mereu, Italy
Běžná selhání (Ordinary Failures), Cristina Groșan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia
Blue Jean, Georgia Oakley, UK
El Akhira. La dernière reine (The Last Queen), Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ounouri, Algeria, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Taiwan
Les damnés ne pleurent pas (The Damned Don't Cry), Fyzal Boulifa, France, Belgium and Morocco
Lobo e Cão (Wolf and Dog), Cláudia Varejão, Portugal
Padre Pio, Abel Ferrara, Italy, Germany and UK
Stonewalling, Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, Japan
The Maiden, Graham Foy, Canada

Out of Competition
Closing Film: The Listener, Steve Buscemi, USA

Special Screenings
Opening Film: Marcia su Roma (The March on Rome), Mark Cousins, Italy (documentary)
Acqua e Anice (Olimpia's Way), Corrado Ceron, Italy
Alone, Jafar Najafi, Iran
Casa Susanna, Sebastien Lifshtz, France and USA (documentary)
Siamo qui per provare, Greta de Lazzaris and Jacopo Qadri , Italy

Miu Miu Women's Tales (short films)
#23 House Comes With A Bird, Janicza Bravo, USA, 15'
#24 Carta A Mi Madre para Mi Hijo, Carla Simón, Spain

Venetian Nights
Il paese delle persone integre (Land of Upright People), Christian Carmosino Mereu, Italy and Burkina Fasso (documentary)
Kristos, The Last Child, Giulia Amati, Italy, France and Greece (documentary)
La Timidezza delle Chiome (The Crown Shyness), Valentina Bertani, Italy and Israel (documentary)
Las Leonas, Isabel Achával and Chiara Bondì, Italy (documentary)
Le Favolose (The Fabulous Ones), Roberta Torre, Italy (documentary)
Pablo di Neanderthal (Pablo From Neanderthal), Antonio Matarazzo, Italy (documentary)
Se Fate I Bravi (The Dream and The Violence), Stefano Collizzolli and Daniele Gaglianone, Italy and Belgium (documentary)
Spaccaossa (The Bone Breakers), Vicenzo Pirrotta, Italy
Un Nemico Invisibile (An Invisible Enemy), Riccardo Campagna and Federico Savonitto, Italy (documentary)

To check films at official site go here.

To check available info and trailer go @MOC
To check available film posters for ALL Biennale Cinema go my pinterest here.