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VENICE 2020 Giornate degli Autori

Travel, empathy, courage: the Giornate degli Autori unveils its programme

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- Ten films in competition, most of them from Eastern Europe, 4 special events, and 11 titles in the Venetian Nights lineup constitute the 17th edition of Venice's autonomous section

Travel, empathy, courage: the Giornate degli Autori unveils its programme
Honey Cigar by Kamir Aïnouz

Travel, empathy, courage: those are the key words of the 17th edition of the Giornate degli Autori, the first with Gaia Furrer as artistic director and one whose spirit is well summarised on the official manifesto of the autonomous and independent section of the Venice Film Festival (2-12 September): a woman in a swimsuit diving in a cannonball, a confident and vital jump towards new challenges. “During lockdown, we could not travel, we needed courage, and we felt strong empathy,” said Furrer while presenting the programme yesterday at the Casa del Cinema in Rome, “and the films of the 2020 Giornate deal with the themes which in this period have been in the hearts of all.”

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10 films are in competition, of which 5 are first features, plus 4 special events and 11 titles selected in the redesigned Venetian Nights - L’Isola degli Autori, for a total of 26 represented nationalities and 11 female directors, including those of the “Miu Miu Women’s Tales” (Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska and Franco-Senegalese director Mati Diop). The selection will open with the Franco-Algerian title Honey Cigar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kamir Aïnouz
film profile
]
by Kamir Aïnouz (sister of noted Brasilian director Karim Aïnouz), a portrait of a 17-year-old girl from a Berber family in Paris, who through love begins a journey that will make her understand what it means to be a free woman; and will close with Saint-Narcisse by Bruce LaBruce (out of competition), which signs the return to the Giornate of the irreverent Canadian director following his participation in 2013 with Gerontophilia, this time with “a pansexual fable in the liberated Canada of the 1970s.”

One of the major changes in this edition is the attention paid to Eastern European cinema. From Siberian Russia, in some way conquered by consumerism and in others still resisting it, comes The Whaler Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philipp Yuryev
film profile
]
, a coming-of-age/adventure tale directed by newcomer Philipp Yuryev, co-produced by Marion Hänsel; from a Moscow traumatised by political secrets and moral drama comes Conference [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
film profile
]
, the fourth film from Ivan I Tverdovskiy; then there is stubborn love in Hungary in Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lili Horvat
interview: Natasa Stork
film profile
]
, the sophisticated second film from Lili Horvát, while Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia Herzegovina are united in the moving film Oasis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ikic
film profile
]
from Serbian director Ivan Ikić. Italy, more specifically Puglia, is present with the family and human tragedy The Stonebreaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianluca and Massimiliano D…
film profile
]
 from brothers Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio.

Confirming the fact that the global health emergency has by no means limited the geographical boundaries of the Giornate selection (read our interview with General Delegate Giorgio Gosetti here), from the United States comes Residue by Merawi Gerima, from China Li Dongmei’s Mama [+see also:
trailer
interview: Li Dongmei
film profile
]
, and from Chile Rodrigo Sepúlveda’s My Tender Matador. Completing the list is Palestinian-Italian co-production 200 Meters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ameen Nayfeh
film profile
]
from director Ameen Nayfeh.

Among the special events out of competition are Giorgia Farina’s romantic road movie starring Jasmine Trinca, Clive Owen and Irène Jacob (Romantic Guide to Lost Places [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giorgia Farina
film profile
]
), and a confirmation of the bizarre and surreal talent of the duo Flavia Mastrella and Antonio Rezza with Samp [+see also:
trailer
interview: Flavia Mastrella, Antonio R…
film profile
]
.

The revamped Venetian Nights, organised in collaboration with the association Isola Edipo, will explore the creative relationship between the language of cinema and the other arts, from theater to visual arts and music (among the 11 titles in the programme are Antonio Pisu’s Est [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Pisu
film profile
]
, Peter MarciasNilde Iotti, Il tempo delle donne [+see also:
trailer
interview: Peter Marcias
film profile
]
, and Venice Concert 1989 by Wayne Isham and Egbert Van Hees). Moreover, for the third consecutive year, Giornate degli Autori and Isola Edipo will present “Cinema of Inclusivity – a tribute to master filmmakers of world cinema”, which this year will be dedicated to director Liliana Cavani.

Here is the selection of the 2020 Giornate degli Autori:

Competition

Honey Cigar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kamir Aïnouz
film profile
]
- Kamir Aïnouz (France/Algeria) (opening film)
The Stonebreaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianluca and Massimiliano D…
film profile
]
- Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio (Italy/France/Belgium)
Mama [+see also:
trailer
interview: Li Dongmei
film profile
]
- Li Dongmei (China)
Residue - Merawi Gerima (United States)
Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lili Horvat
interview: Natasa Stork
film profile
]
- Lili Horvát (Hungary)
Oasis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ikic
film profile
]
- Ivan Ikić (Serbia/Slovenia/Holland/France/Bosnia Herzegovina)
200 Meters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ameen Nayfeh
film profile
]
- Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine/Jordan/Italy/Qatar/Switzerland)
My Tender Matador - Rodrigo Sepúlveda (Chile/Argentina/Mexico)
Conference [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
film profile
]
- Ivan I. Tverdovskiy (Russia/Estonia/Italy/UK)
The Whaler Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philipp Yuryev
film profile
]
- Philipp Yuryev (Russia/Poland/Belgium)

Out of competition

Saint-Narcisse - Bruce LaBruce (Canada) (closing film)

Special events

Romantic Guide to Lost Places [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giorgia Farina
film profile
]
- Giorgia Farina (Italy)
Samp [+see also:
trailer
interview: Flavia Mastrella, Antonio R…
film profile
]
- Flavia Mastrella and Antonio Rezza (Italy)
The New Gospel [+see also:
film review
interview: Milo Rau
film profile
]
- Milo Rau (Germany/Switzerland)
Extraliscio-Punk Da Balera [+see also:
trailer
interview: Elisabetta Sgarbi
film profile
]
- Elisabetta Sgarbi (Italy)

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

Nightwalk - Malgorzata Szumowska (Italy/Poland) (short film)
In My Room - Mati Diop (Italy/France) (short film)

Venetian Nights

Est [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Pisu
film profile
]
- Antonio Pisu (Italy)
50-Santarcangelo Festival [+see also:
trailer
interview: Michele Mellara, Alessandro…
film profile
]
- Michele Mellara and Alessandro Rossi (Italy)
Occident Express [+see also:
trailer
interview: Simone Marcelli
film profile
]
- Simone Marcelli (Italy)
Agalma - Doriana Monaco (Italy) (medium-length film)
iSola [+see also:
trailer
interview: Elisa Fuksas
film profile
]
- Elisa Fuksas (Italy)
James [+see also:
trailer
interview: Andrea Della Monica
film profile
]
- Andrea Della Monica (Italy)
Nilde Iotti, Il tempo delle donne [+see also:
trailer
interview: Peter Marcias
film profile
]
- Peter Marcias (Italy)
Venice Concert 1989 - Wayne Isham e Egbert Van Hees (UK) (1989)
Say Amen, Somebody - George T. Nierenberg (United States)
To The Moon [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tadhg O'Sullivan
film profile
]
- Tadhg O’Sullivan (Ireland)
En ce moment - Serena Vittorini (Italy) (short film)
Solitaire - Edoardo Natoli (Italy) (short film)

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(Translated from Italian)

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