17th Queer Lion Award Lineup and Winner

The Poster

Queer Lion, this year, pays tribute to Aus meiner Haut (Skin Deep), a movie that portraysthe dynamics that codify the complex language of feelings, by telling a love story that literally transcends bodies. What initially appears as a body swapping horror movie, quickly starts overcoming both cinematic genres and genders. In doing so, it poses surprisingly clever and daring questions, challenging the very nature and purpose of love, be it the mind, the body, the pleasure or the laws of desire. In demolishing the idea of per-established roles in favor of endless fluid possibilities, the movie boldly succeeds in turning the acronym LGBTQ into a single word.

Aus meiner Haut (Skin Deep) by German-Kazakh director Alex Schaad was the winner of the 16th edition of the Queer Lion Award.

Author of the artwork inspired by the movie is Francesco Gangemi Illustrator: “It was created using paper art technique, paired with a strong ink stroke and bright contrasting colours. Details in tissue paper refine the image and help strengthening the emotional impact. The ink, applied with passion and emotional zeal, creates a chaotic, surreal atmosphere evoking both the mysteries and the intertwoven lives and personal feelings we get to see throughout the whole movie, whose leads’ deep gazes reveal perceptions, identities, quests for help and understanding, merging together in a single face, in a single identity”.

The Selection

The lineup of the sixteen (16) titles competing for the current edition of the Queer Lion Award have a duration of 30 minutes or more and with relevant LGTB themes and characters which makes them eligible for the competition.

There are also films with LGBTQ characters or situations that are particularly secondary or marginal to the plot and story which go to the Out of Competition section of the award which also includes works with queer content and running time under 30' and the restored versions of films that made history of queer cinema and culture.

The award will be given by a jury composed by members of the Board of Queer Lion Association and they will be attending the whole fetival. Award ceremony will be on Friday, September 8th.

Films In Competition

#Venezia80 Competition
Dogman, Luc Besson, France
Kobieta z... (Woman Of), Małgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert, Poland and Sweden
Maestro, Bradley Cooper, USA

Orizzonti
Domakinstvo za pocetnici (Housekeeping for Beginners), Goran Stolevski, North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo (L) - winner of the 2023 Queer Lion
Paradiset brinner (Paradise is Burning), Mika Gustafson, Sweden, Italy, Denmark and Finland (L)
Sem Coração (Heartless), Nara Normande and Tião, Brazil, France and Italy
Yurt (Dormitory), Nehir Tuna, Turkey, Germany, France  (G)
Orrizonti Extra
Pet Shop Boys, Olmo Schnabel, Italy, Uk and Mexico (G)

Venice Classics
Bill Douglas My Best Friend, Jack Archer, UK (documentary) (G)

Biennale College Cinema
Árni, Dorka Vermes, Hungary

Giornate degli Autori
Frammenti di un percorso amoroso (Fragments of A Life Loved), Chloe Barreau, Italy (documentary) (L)
Le mie poesie non cambieranno il mondo, Annalena Benini and Francesco Piccolo, Italy (documentary) (L)
To kalokairi tis Karmen (The Summer with Carmen), Zacharias Mavroeidis, Greece (G)

Settimana Internazionale della Critica
About Last Year, Dunja Lavecchia, Beatrice Surano and Morena Terranova, Italy
Life Is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning, Julia Fuhr Mann, Germany (documentary with fictional elements)
Malqueridas, Tana Gilbert, Chile and Germany (documentary)

Films Out of Competition - Feature Films

#Venezia80 Competition
La Bête (The Beast), Bertrand Bonello, France and Canada
Adagio, Stefano Sollima, Italy

Giornate degli Autori
Semidei, Fabio Mollo and Alessandra Cataleta, Italy (documentary)

Films Out of Competition - Short Films

Orizzonti
Area Boy, Iggy London, UK, 18'

Giornate degli Autori
This is How A Child Becomes A Poet, Céline Sciamma, France and Italy, 16'

IC@SIC Short Italian Cinema at Settimana Internazionale della Critica
De l’amour perdu (Lost Love), Lorenzo Quagliozzi, Italy, 17'

Venice Immersive
Body of Mine, Cameron Kostopoulos, USA, 20'
Finalmente Eu (Finally Me), Marcio Sal, Brazil, 14'
Queer Utopia: Act I Cruising, Lui Avallos, Portugal and Brasil, 25'

Films Out of Competition - Restored Versions

Venice Classics
Bugis Street, Yonfan, Hong Kong, 1995

Check available info and trailers @MOC