24/07/2017 - The programme for the 32nd edition of the parallel and autonomous section of the Venice Film Festival, which will be held from 30 August to 9 September 2017, has been unveiled in Rome

“Continuing to probe the terrain of what is possible without abandoning the taste for searching”, understood as “the pleasure of looking for films”, those capable of calling everything into question”, and above all “being open to being amazed”. This is the editorial line announced this year by the selection committee of the International Critics’ Week, headed up by general delegate Giona A. Nazzaro, the 32nd edition of which will be held in parallel to the Venice Film Festival from 30 August to 9 September. Seven first works will be held in competition and two as special events, all in their world premieres, with an overwhelming presence of European films and female voices (“women travel with lighter baggage, they don’t hang onto nostalgia for films of the past, they make more sensual and entertaining films”, specifies Nazzaro), for a 2017 programme in which “every film has a strong and diverse visual identity”, and in which the concerns of youth stand out among the themes broached.

The opening film comes from the United Kingdom. Pin Cushion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Deborah Haywood is an all-female dark fairy-tale set on the fringes of the British working class, “a cruel and colourful” film (to borrow the words of the general delegate), somewhere between an Angela Carter and Ken Loach film. Meanwhile there are two Italian titles in the running: in competition, Crater [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellino
film profile] by Luca Bellino and Silvia Luzi, “a film of observation set in Naples but far from having any local flavours”, about a father who dreams of a future for his daughter as a neomelodic. The closing film, being shown out of competition, is Poison – The Land of Fires [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the second work by Diego Olivares set against the backdrop of Southern Italy and starring Luisa Ranieri and Massimiliano Gallo.

From Germany comes Drift [+see also:
trailer
interview: Helena Wittmann and Theresa…
film profile] by Helena Wittmann, “a film you watch with your ears”, which follows the journey of a woman across two continents and promises a strong sensorial experience; the German touch is also clear to see in Turkish film The Gulf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emre Yeksan
film profile] by Emre Yeksan,which portrays modern-day Turkey set against a sci-fi backdrop (see news article), in Sarah Plays a Werewolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katharina Wyss
film profile] by Swiss director Katharina Wyss, a film somewhere between a piece of cinema, theatre and art, and in Hunting Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Natalia Garagiola
film profile], in which Argentinian filmmaker Natalia Garagiola gets to grips with extreme caution with a world of battling masks (co-produced by France). This year’s “punk film” is Team Hurricane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Annika Berg
film profile] by Danish director Annika Berg, which immerses us in the world of teens who have grown up in the digital era and their games, with all their moving images, while the “scandalous film” of this year’s edition is French film Wild Boys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile] by Bertrand Mandico, a “feverish erotic dream in which Kipling’s brave captains fall in love with Genet’s sailors”, somewhere between science of the occult and sex changes on board a ghost ship.

Last but not least, there’s the second edition of SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ International Critics’ Week), featuring a selection of seven short films by debut Italian writers, and two special events, all in their world premieres.

The programme of the 32^nd Critics’ Week:

Competition

Crater [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellino
film profile] – Luca Bellino, Silvia Luzi (Italy)
Drift [+see also:
trailer
interview: Helena Wittmann and Theresa…
film profile] – Helena Wittmann (Germany)
Wild Boys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile] – Bertrand Mandico (France)
The Gulf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emre Yeksan
film profile] – Emre Yeksan (Turkey/Germany/Greece)
Sarah Plays a Werewolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katharina Wyss
film profile] – Katharina Wyss (Switzerland/Germany)
Team Hurricane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Annika Berg
film profile] – Annika Berg (Denmark)
Hunting Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Natalia Garagiola
film profile] – Natalia Garagiola (Argentina/USA/Germany/France/Qatar)

Special event – Opening film

Pin Cushion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Deborah Haywood (United Kingdom)

Special event – Closing film

Poison – The Land of Fires [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Diego Olivares (Italy)

SIC@SIC (short films)

Adavede – Alain Parroni
Due – Riccardo Giacconi
Les fantômes de la veille – Manuel Billi
Il legionario – Hleb Papou
MalaMènti – Francesco Di Leva
Piccole italiane – Letizia Lamartire
Le visite – Elio Di Pace

Special event – Opening short film

Nausicaa – L’altra Odissea – Bepi Vigna

Special event – Closing short film

L’ultimo miracolo – Enrico Pau

(Translated from Italian)