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VENICE 2022 Giornate degli Autori

The Giornate degli Autori section celebrates its 19th anniversary with Abel Ferrara and Steve Buscemi

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- Political films and movies full of desire, looking both to the past and to the future, make up the line-up of the parallel section of the Venice Film Festival, from 31 August to 10 September

The Giornate degli Autori section celebrates its 19th anniversary with Abel Ferrara and Steve Buscemi
Padre Pio by Abel Ferrara

A jump to the moon, where the dreams and desires of men are kept, to explore new terrains and new possibilities, and above all to move forward, amid the thousand difficulties of our times — thus could be described the symbolic image (created by artist Rä di Martino) chosen this year by Giornate degli Autori to celebrate its 19th edition. 

"Politics are this year’s main theme", specified artistic director Gaia Furrer, who presented  today in Rome, together with general delegate Giorgio Gosetti, the rich program of the autonomous section which will take place in parallel to the 79th Venice International Film Festival, from 31 August to 10 September. "These are films that talk about our present day and its complexities through a reworking of the past and an attempt to imagine a different future, and where human loneliness is accompanied by a strong need for alliances and complicity".

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There are 10 films in the competition, including four feature debuts and five films directed by women. The Out of Competition subsection will open with the documentary The March on Rome [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mark Cousins
film profile
]
by Irish director Mark Cousins, on the centenary of the event that marked the rise of fascism in Italy, with Alba Rohrwacher in the film’s fictional part. The Competition meanwhile will open with Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wissam Charaf
film profile
]
by Wissam Charaf, in which a Syrian refugee and an Eritrean caregiver love each other against the backdrop of a collapsing Lebanon. Another title set in an oppressive present is The Damned Don’t Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Fyzal Boulifa, which sees a mother and child crossing a Morocco torn by economic and social disparities.

Four of the titles in competition look back: Blue Jean [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgia Oakley
film profile
]
, from British director Georgia Oakley, transports us to Thatcher's England in 1988, when the homophobic "section 28" set of laws came into effect, remaining in force until 2003; The Last Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ou…
interview: Damien Ounouri
film profile
]
, by Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri, is a costume drama set in 16th-century Algeria, centred on the legendary deeds of the last queen of Algiers; Padre Pio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abel Ferrara
film profile
]
by Abel Ferrara (“a punk choice, among so many first works,” commented Furrer), starring Shia Labeouf, portrays the torments of the Saint Pius of Pietrelcina and the historical event that was the massacre of San Giovanni Rotondo, in 1920; Bentu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Salvatore Mereu
film profile
]
by Salvatore Mereu, is a moral parable about man's conflict with nature, in 1950s Sardinia.

Ordinary Failures [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristina Grosan
film profile
]
, by Cristina Grosan, is a feminist dystopia where three women are forced to team up to avoid the apocalypse; Wolf and Dog [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cláudia Varejão
film profile
]
, by Claudia Varejao, is a queer tale set on an island in the Azores; also in the running for the GdA Director's Award is Stonewalling, by Huang Ji and Ryuici Otsuka, about the commodification of the body of a young pregnant woman, and The Maiden by Graham Foy, a lyric tale of teenagers reminiscent of the cinema of Gus Van Sant. The Listener, by Steve Buscemi, which will close the section and play out of competition, stars Tessa Thompson in the role of a volunteer on a helpline who listens to the voices of post-Trump and post-Covid America.

Among the special events, Casa Susanna [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile
]
by Sebastian Lifshitz centres on the place where the first clandestine group of crossdressers used to take refuge, in 1950s America; Olimpia’s Way [+see also:
trailer
interview: Corrado Ceron
film profile
]
, by Corrado Ceron, is a "dance/road movie" focused on the female alliance between a former ballroom dancing star, played by Stefania Sandrelli, and her driver, Silvia D'Amico. Finally, the Venetian Nights category, the alternation showcase of the Giornate in collaboration with Isola Edipo, will feature 9 titles, all Italian, including: Le favolose [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roberta Torre
film profile
]
by Roberta Torre, the "boisterous" portrait of a group of 70-year-old trans women who are trying to give a worthy burial to a missing friend; The Bone Breakers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vincenzo Pirrotta
film profile
]
by Vincenzo Pirrotta, a story of insurance fraud in Palermo, starring Luigi Lo Cascio; The Dream and the Violence [+see also:
trailer
interview: Stefano Collizzolli
film profile
]
, by Stefano Collizzolli and Daniele Guaglianone, who return to the facts of the G8 in Genoa after 20 years, better to talk to us about the present.

As usual, the GdA Director's Award will be handed out by the jury of 27 young European cinephiles, headed this year by director Céline Sciamma (read the news).

The selected films:

Competition

Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wissam Charaf
film profile
]
- Wissam Charaf (France/Italy/Lebanon) (opening film)
Bentu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Salvatore Mereu
film profile
]
- Salvatore Mereu (Italy)
Ordinary Failures [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristina Grosan
film profile
]
- Cristina Groşan (Czech Republic/Italy/Hungary/Slovakia)
Blue Jean [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgia Oakley
film profile
]
- Georgia Oakley (UK)
The Last Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ou…
interview: Damien Ounouri
film profile
]
- Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ounouri (Algeria/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Taiwan)
The Damned Don’t Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Fyzal Boulifa (France/Belgium/Morocco)
Wolf and Dog [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cláudia Varejão
film profile
]
- Cláudia Varejão (Portugal)
Padre Pio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abel Ferrara
film profile
]
- Abel Ferrara (Italy/Germany/UK)
Stonewalling - Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka (Japan)
The Maiden - Graham Foy (Canada)

Out of Competition

The Listener - Steve Buscemi (US) (closing film)

Special Events

The March on Rome [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mark Cousins
film profile
]
- Mark Cousins (Italy)
Casa Susanna [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile
]
- Sebastien Lifshitz (France/United States)
Alone - Jafar Najafi (Iran)
We're Here to Try [+see also:
trailer
interview: Greta De Lazzaris and Jacop…
film profile
]
- Greta De Lazzaris, Jacopo Quadri (Italy)
Olimpia’s Way [+see also:
trailer
interview: Corrado Ceron
film profile
]
- Corrado Ceron (Italy)

Special Screenings

Era Roma [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Mario Canale (Italy)
La fornace - Daniele Ciprì (Italy) (short film)
Nature [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Artavazd Pelechian (France/Armenia/Germany)
Worlds Apart - Cecilia Miniucchi (USA)

Venetian Nights

Land of Upright People [+see also:
trailer
interview: Christian Carmosino Mereu
film profile
]
 - Christian Carmosino Mereu (Italy/Burkina Faso)
Kristos, The Last Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giulia Amati
film profile
]
 - Giulia Amati (Italy/France/Greece)
Las leonas [+see also:
trailer
interview: Isabel Achával, Chiara Bondì
film profile
]
- Isabel Achával, Chiara Bondì (Italy)
The Crown Shyness [+see also:
trailer
interview: Valentina Bertani
film profile
]
- Valentina Bertani (Italy/Israel)
Le favolose [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roberta Torre
film profile
]
- Roberta Torre (Italy)
Pablo From Neanderthal [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonello Matarazzo
film profile
]
- Antonello Matarazzo (Italy)
The Dream and the Violence [+see also:
trailer
interview: Stefano Collizzolli
film profile
]
 - Stefano Collizzolli, Daniele Gaglianone (Italy/Belgium)
The Bone Breakers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vincenzo Pirrotta
film profile
]
- Vincenzo Pirrotta (Italy)
An Invisible Enemy [+see also:
trailer
interview: Riccardo Campagna, Federico…
film profile
]
- Riccardo Campagna, Federico Savonitto (Italy)

Miu Miu Women’s Tales

#23 House Comes With a Bird - Janicza Bravo (USA) (short film)
#24 Carta de mi madre para mi hijo - Carla Simón (Spain) (short film)

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(Translated from Italian)

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