Venice International Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Venice International Film Festival started in 1932 and takes place in Venice, Italy

Official Website

World Premiere of Damien Chazelle’s FIRST MAN Starring Ryan Gosling to Open 75th Venice International Film Festival [Trailer]

First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) and starring Ryan Gosling, Jason Clarke and Claire Foy, will World Premiere as the opening night film, in Competition, of the 75th Venice International Film Festival (August 29 – September 8, 2018). Festival director Alberto Barbera declared: “It is a true privilege to present the world premiere of Damien Chazelle’s new, highly-awaited film. It is a very personal, original and compelling piece of work, wonderfully unexpected within the context of present day epic films, and a confirmation of the great talent of one of the most important contemporary directors of American cinema. Our gratitude goes to Universal Pictures for premiering First Man at the 75th Venice Film Festival.” Chazelle declared:”I am humbled by Venice’s invitation and am thrilled to return. It feels especially poignant to share this news so close to the moon landing’s anniversary. I eagerly look forward to bringing the film to the festival.” First Man will be shown in its world premiere screening on Wednesday August 29th, in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia. On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Y7DTCn7Cc
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Classic Silent Film THE GOLEM (1920) for Pre-Opening of Venice International Film Festival

The silent film classic The Golem – How He Came Into The World (Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam, 1920), written and directed by Paul Wegener, is the film chosen for the Pre-opening event of the 75th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia, to be shown in the Sala Darsena (Palazzo del Cinema) on the Lido on Tuesday August 28th. The Golem – How He Came Into The World will be screened from a new digital copy made from the original negative that was thought to have been lost, restored in 4K and supervised by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden (Germany) and by the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique (Cinematek) in Brussels, to be shown in its world premiere screening. The digital restoration was done by Immagine ritrovata in Bologna. The screening of The Golem – How He Came Into The World will be scored with original music by maestro Admir Shkurtaj, commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, and performed live by the Mesimèr Ensemble wth members: Hersjana Matmuja (soprano), Giorgio Distante (Bb trumpet, midi trumpet), Pino Basile (cupafon – a set of friction drums, percussions, ocarina), Vanessa Sotgiù (synthesizer, piano), Iacopo Conoci (cello), Admir Shkurtaj (conductor, electronics, accordion, piano). The 75th Venice International Film Festival will be held on the Lido from August 29th to September 8th 2018, directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by La Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta.
The Golem – How He Came Into The World by Paul Wegener
Set in ancient Prague of the 16th century Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam (1920) recounts the Jewish tale of the clay-made creature brought to life by a rabbi’s occult ritual. Foreseeing the upcoming expulsion of the Jews from the city, Rabbi Löw (Albert Steinrück) creates and awakes the mythical Golem in order to protect his people. Through a turn of events the Golem saves the emperor’s (Otto Gebühr) life, convincing him to lift the ban. But due to a jealous servant (Ernst Deutsch) and his selfish plans the Golem runs out of control and turns against his creator… Director Paul Wegener, who also performs the Golem, already adapted the story twice before, once in 1914 and again in 1917. But only his third attempt, driven by great artistic ambition, earned him broader appreciation. Its outstanding mise-en-scène with architecture by Hans Poelzig and cinematography by Karl Freund made Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam one of the most recognized and widely-cited films of Weimar Cinema. The film turned out to be a great international success for the German silent film industry with sold out screenings for months – even in the US and China. Its emblematic expressionist style influenced Hollywood’s classical horror movies as well as popular culture up to this day.
Notes of Restoration
No German version has survived of the silent classic Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam. A photochemical restoration from the 1990s bases on export versions. The discovery of an original negative at the Cinematek (Royal Film Archive of Belgium) gave cause for a new digital 4K restoration of the lost German version by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the Cinematek (Royal Film Archive of Belgium). This negative is edited of different takes than the export version. The takes for two negatives were filmed with two cameras in parallel. The Cinematek`s negative is superior with respect to camera angle and montage. A duplicate negative from the US release version at the George Eastman House proofs that at some point this negative was used for the US market. It is likely that it was originally the negative for German release. As a result of cuts for the US release, several shots were abridged. Today the original negative lacks few scenes. Some of them have survived in the material of the George Eastman House. Another source for completion will be a black-and-white print of the Cinémathèque française made from the export negative. The original negative contains many intertitles in the original Expressionist font that had not been accessible for the previous restoration. Together with the titles that the Filmmuseum München obtained from the Gosfilmofond of Russia, the new restoration will present almost all titles in the famous original font. Digital restoration of the image includes removal of excessive white dirt, defects of the negative that were created by wear and tear, and adjustment of the completing sources as close as possible to the original negative. The digitale restoration is carried out by L`Immagine Ritrovata. Reference for colours and grading is the only known vintage print of this film, an Italian release version from the Fondazione Cineteca Italiana to restore the original gray scale and typical colour effect of the original tinting.
The Music
With regard to the original music which will accompany The Golem – How He Came Into The World on the evening of August 28th, maestro Admir Shkurtaj has written: “Scoring Wegener’s film engaged the composer, for the many latent or hidden metaphors that he feels driven to identify and to develop in his own language. And so just as the wise man-wizard Löw uses his own hands to shape out of clay the instrument destined to save the community he feels responsible for, the ensemble of instruments selected for this work was asked to make, by hand, the instruments that would be needed to perform it. The Cupafon used by the percussionist is an original instrument arising from his own research into the stick friction idiophone, an instrument popular in the regions of Puglia and Basilicata; moreover, playing it requires constantly dipping the hands in water, exactly like you would to shape clay. The midi trumpet is also the result of a handcrafting process, even if to make it requires applying electronic circuits onto the instrument. Here the role of water in shaping the sound as the musician plays the Cupafon is again an artisanal process of the electronics. And so on for the rest of the musicians who were asked to make constant reference to the modus operandi of the maker who does not intend to passively follow academic and canonical performing methods. The entire work is based on a non-homogeneous musical vocabulary, which reflects the fleeting nature of form which is inherent to clay; a blend in which one can recognize elements of jazz, of contemporary music, of melodic and rhythmic modules typical of the Eastern European musical tradition and of electronic music. Geometry and the material impression of the buildings in which the scenes are set are mirrored by the concrete sounds recorded in the real environment and played through the synthesizer. The use of electronics, which initially appear unsuited to the scoring of a 1920s silent film, is justified by analogy with the unpredictable nature of the fate of every human creation: once technique has left the hands of its maker, it is destined to live a life of its own. Just as the Golem intends to do. Along with the score and as a complement to it, the performers must follow the photograms of the film to underscore, as if they were additional dynamic markings, its emotional developments. Another analogy that more specifically involves the composer of contemporary music in this scoring effort, is his spasmodic search, just like Rabbi Löw, to give life to an inanimate material which for one is the clay, for the other the sounds. Both must also make an effort to avoid incurring the disapproval of the social context for which, all things told, they both work. The Golem is taunted and feared when he is presented to the public, just like a sound production that seeks to break through established conventions and canons. If the rabbi had used his clay to make vases or pots he would undoubtedly have earned more immediate approval, but he would not have convinced the emperor to save his people. His attempt to overstep the boundaries and to attempt the impossible, is identical in nature to the attempt that a manipulator of sound materials makes in his own field when he tries new combinations and new alchemies in the language of sounds”.
Admir Shkurtaj
Admir Shkurtaj (Tirana, 3 December 1969) began his musical studies in 1984-88 at the arts and music high school “Jordan Misja” in Tirana, in Accordion playing. In 1989 he began his studies in composition at the Conservatory, and pursued them in Italy in 1991 at the Conservatorio statale “Tito Schipa” in Lecce, from which he graduated in 1999. He continued his studies with Sandro Gorli (1994 -1996) and then with Alessandro Solbiati (1999-2002), in courses that would be important for his training as a composer. He earned a diploma in Electronic Music in 2009 and works as a composer, instrumentalist and improviser. He writes music for chamber and full orchestras, theatre and film.
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Billy Wilder’s SOME LIKE IT HOT and More in Venezia Classici Lineup of 75th Venice International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_30765" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] SOME LIKE IT HOT[/caption] Since 2012, the Venezia Classici of the Venice International Film Festival has been presenting the world premieres of a selection of the best restorations of classic films conducted over the previous year by film libraries, cultural institutions and productions all over the world. Curated by Alberto Barbera in collaboration with Stefano Francia di Celle, Venezia Classici also presents a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The Jury, chaired by Italian director Salvatore Mereu (Three Steps Dancing, Pretty Butterflies), is composed of 26 cinema history students – nominated by their professors – from Italian universities, DAMS performing arts courses, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and will award the VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARD for the BEST RESTORED FILM and the BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CINEMA. The numerous restored masterpieces in the Venezia Classici section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival include: The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Il posto (1961) by Ermanno Olmi, The Ascent (1976) by Larisa Shepitko, The Place Without Limits (1977) by Arturo Ripstein, The Brick and the Mirror (1964) by Ebrahim Golestan, Adieu Philippine (1962) by Jacques Roziers, Last Year in Marienbad (1961, Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival) by Alain Resnais, Some Like It Hot (1959) by Billy Wilder, Street of Shame (1956, Special Mention at the Venice International Film Festival) by Kenji Mizoguchi, The Night Porter (1974) by Liliana Cavani and Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow (1962) by Tomu Uchida. The 75th Venice International Film Festival will be held at the Lido from August 29 to September 8, 2018; it is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta. The list of the films selected for the Venezia Classici section of the 75th Festival:
VENEZIA CLASSICI
THEY LIVE [ESSI VIVONO] by JOHN CARPENTER (USA, 1988, 94’, COL.) restoration: Studiocanal IL PORTIERE DI NOTTE (THE NIGHT PORTER) by LILIANA CAVANI (Italy, 1974, 120’, COL.) restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà THE NAKED CITY [LA CITTÀ NUDA] by JULES DASSIN (USA, 1948, 96’, B/W) restoration: Brook Productions and Master Licensing KHESHT O AYENEH (THE BRICK AND THE MIRROR) by EBRAHIM GOLESTAN (Iran, 1964, 130’, B/W) restoration: Ecran Noir production (Mitra Farahani) and Ebrahim Golestan in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna AKASEN CHITAI (STREET OF SHAME) [LA STRADA DELLA VERGOGNA] by KENJI MIZOGUCHI (Japan, 1956, 86’, B/W) restoration: Kadokawa Corporation IL POSTO by ERMANNO OLMI (Italy, 1961, 95’, B/W) restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and Titanus L’ANNÉE DERNIÈRE À MARIENBAD (LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD) [L’ANNO SCORSO A MARIENBAD] by ALAIN RESNAIS (France, Italy, 1961, 94’, B/W) restoration: Studiocanal with the support of Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée and Chanel EL LUGAR SIN LÍMITES (THE PLACE WITHOUT LIMITS) [IL LUOGO SENZA LIMITI] by ARTURO RIPSTEIN (Mexico, 1977, 110’, COL.) restoration: Cineteca Nacional México and Imcine ADIEU PHILIPPINE [DESIDERI NEL SOLE] by JACQUES ROZIERS (France, Italy, 1962, 103’, B/W) restoration: Cinémathèque française and A17 with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. In collaboration with Les Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco, La Cinémathèque suisse and Extérieur Nuit. VOSKHOZHDENIYE (THE ASCENT) [L’ASCESA] by LARISA SHEPITKO (Russia, 1976, 110’, B/W) restoration: Mosfilm (producer of the restoration Karen Shakhnazarov) THE KILLERS [CONTRATTO PER UCCIDERE] by DON SIEGEL (USA, 1964, 102’, COL.) restoration: Universal Pictures THE KILLERS [I GANGSTERS] by ROBERT SIODMAK (USA, 1946, 95’, B/W) restoration: Universal Pictures LA NOTTE DI SAN LORENZO (THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS) by PAOLO E VITTORIO TAVIANI (Italy, 1982, 107’, COL.) restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà KOI YA KOI NASUNA KOI (LOVE, THY NAME BE SORROW aka THE MAD FOX) [LA VOLPE FOLLE] by TOMU UCHIDA (Japan, 1962, 109’, COL.) restoration: Toei Company, Ltd. MORTE A VENEZIA (DEATH IN VENICE) by LUCHINO VISCONTI (Italy, France, USA, 1971, 130’, COL.) restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà in collaboration with Warner Bros. and The Criterion Collection NOTHING SACRED [NULLA SUL SERIO] by WILLIAM A. WELLMAN (USA, 1937, 74’, COL.) restoration: The Museum of Modern Art SOME LIKE IT HOT [A QUALCUNO PIACE CALDO] by BILLY WILDER (USA, 1959, 121′, B/W) restoration: Park Circus in collaboration with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and The Criterion Collection The Venezia Classici section will also feature the presentation of a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The complete list of the section will be announced during the press conference presenting the program of the Venice Film Festival, on Wednesday, July 25th at 11 a.m. in Rome (Cinema Moderno). Salvatore Mereu – Biography Salvatore Mereu was born in Dorgali in 1965. After graduating in film directing from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, he made several short films including Notte rumena (1996), Miguel (1999), Il mare (2004). Starting with his first feature-length film, Ballo a tre passi (Three Steps Dancing, 2003), distinguished by its particular four-part structure, each corresponding to one season of the year, he explores the relationship between tradition and modernity in his native land, Sardinia. For Ballo a tre passi, Mereu won the Settimana della Critica award in Venice in 2003, as well as the David di Donatello and the Ciak d’Oro as best emerging director. He was also nominated for three Nastro d’argento awards including Best Screenplay. His second film, Sonetàula (2008), was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section, and was awarded the Globo d’oro of the Foreign Press, as well as the FIPA d’Or at the Biarritz Film Festival for Best Screenplay. He returned to the Venice Film Festival in 2010 with Tajabone, set among the young students of the middle schools on the outskirts of Cagliari, and in 2012 participated in the Orizzonti section with Bellas mariposas (Pretty Butterflies), from the eponymous book by Sergio Atzeni, the story of two adolescent girls who live in a working-class neighbourhood in Cagliari. The film won him the Schermi di Qualità award at the Venice Film Festival, the Big Screen Award at the Rotterdam Festival. For the same film, he won the Premio Suso Cecchi D’Amico for Best Screenplay and the Premio Tonino Guerra for Best Screenplay at the Bif&st. In 2013, again for the Venice Film Festival, he made the collective film Venezia 70 – Future Reloaded along with 70 directors from around the world, to celebrate the Festival’s 70th edition. For years he has alternated his work as a director with his teaching of image education. He has taught film in various schools around the island, producing several short films with his students (Il mare, La vita adesso, Scegliere per crescere, Futuro prossimo), selected for the most important Italian and international film festivals. In recent years, in collaboration with CELCAM, he has taught a course in film direction and screenwriting at the Department of Humanities and Philosophy at the University of Cagliari. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano.
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Director David Cronenberg to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival

David Cronenberg will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for directors at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 29 to September 8, 2018. Accepting the award, David Cronenberg declared: “I’ve always loved the Golden Lion of Venice. A lion that flies on golden wings––that’s the essence of art, isn’t it? The essence of cinema. It will be almost unbearably thrilling to receive a Golden Lion of my own.” With regard to this prize, Festival Director, Alberto Barbera declared: “Although Cronenberg was originally relegated to the margins of the horror genre, right from his first, scandalously subversive movies, the director has shown that he wants to take his audiences well beyond the cinema of exploitation, as he constructs an original and highly personal structure, movie after movie. Revolving around the inseparable relationship of body, sex, and death, his universe is populated by grotesque deformities and terrifying couplings, a horror which reflects the fear of mutations inflicted on bodies by science and technology, of disease and physical decay, of the unresolved conflict between spirit and flesh. Violence, sexual transgression, confusion between what is real and what is virtual, the image’s deforming role in contemporary society: these are a few of the recurring themes which have helped make him one of the most daring and stimulating filmmakers ever, a tireless innovator of forms and languages.” Director David Cronenberg’s reputation as an authentic auteur has been firmly established by his uniquely personal body of work which includes: Shivers, Rabid, Fast Company, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Crash, eXistenZ, The Dead Zone, M. Butterfly, Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. In 1991, Cronenberg was nominated for the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival for Naked Lunch and won this award in 1999 for eXistenZ. Cronenberg’s films Crash, Spider, A History of Violence and Cosmopolis have all been in competition for the Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1996, Crash received a Special Jury Prize from the Festival. Most recently, in 2011, A Dangerous Method was nominated for a Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. Frequently lauded as one of the world’s greatest and most influential directors, Cronenberg’s films have earned him critical praise and recognition internationally. In 1999, he presided over the Cannes Film Festival jury and in 2006, was awarded the Festival’s lifetime achievement award, the Carrosse d’Or. Collectively, his films have been nominated for seven Golden Globes; received BAFTA and France’s César Award nominations for A History of Violence and Eastern Promises; four Academy Award nominations; prizes from the Toronto International Film Festival, Directors Guild of Canada and Canada’s Genie Awards. Cronenberg’s short film, At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World, in which he also stars, was created for the Chacun son cinema collection of films commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cannes International Film Festival. Other special commissions include Camera (2000), created for the 25th anniversary of the Toronto International Film (TIFF) and The Nest (2013) as part of TIFF’s David Cronenberg Evolution exhibition and retrospective. In 2006, Cronenberg worked with the Art Gallery of Ontario as a guest curator for the exhibition, Andy Warhol/Supernova: Stars, Deaths and Disasters, 1962-1964. David created an innovative soundtrack audio guide with additional commentary by several of Warhol’s contemporaries. Further challenging himself outside the realm of film, David brought the opera of the The Fly to the stage for the Théâtre du Châtelet and LA Opera in 2008. Turning his hand to fiction in 2014, David debuted his first novel, Consumed. The inventive and disturbing work was mounted as a stage play by Theatre Bremen in 2015 and is currently being developed for television. Recognition of Cronenberg’s contribution to art and culture has included an appointment as an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2003, a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2014, investiture in France’s Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and the Légion d’Honneur in 2009. Cronenberg was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in 2011.
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Director Guillermo del Toro Named President of the International Jury of the 75th Venice International Film Festival

Director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone) will be the president of the International Jury of the Competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 29 to September 8, 2018, which will assign the Golden Lion for Best Film as well as other official awards. Guillermo del Toro commented: “To serve as president in Venice is a immense honor and responsibility that I accept with respect and gratitude. Venice is a window to world cinema and the opportunity to celebrate its power and cultural relevance.” Festival Director Alberto Barbera said: “Guillermo Del Toro personifies generosity, a love for movies past or future, and a passion for the kind of cinema that can spark emotions, affect people and, at the same time, make them reflect. By virtue of his lively imagination, uncommon sensitivity and his trust in the power of images, he has brought to life a fantastic universe in which love and fear can coexist, and to treasure diversity is a fundamental value. We are pleased and honored that he has agreed to preside over the Jury of the 75th Venice Film Festival, after having illuminated the previous edition with the dazzling beauty of The Shape of Water. He will be a genial, inquisitive and enthusiastic President.” Guillermo del Toro participated in the Competition of the recent 74th Venice International Film Festival 2017 with The Shape of Water, which won the Golden Lion for Best Film, awarded by the Jury chaired by Annette Bening. Del Toro participated in the Venice Film Festival for the first time in 1997 with the film Mimic, in the Mezzanotte section. In 2006, he was a member of the Jury for the Luigi de Laurentiis Venice Award for a Debut Film at the 63rd Venice Film Festival.
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Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER Wins Golden Lion at Venice International Film Festival

Guillermo del Toro fairy tale drama The Shape of Water, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962 won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 2017 Venice International Film Festival. The film, starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer, also won the Future Film Festival Digital Award, C. Smithers Foundation Award – CICT-UNESCO, and the Soundtrack Stars Award. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFYWazblaUA The Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize went to Foxtrot by Samuel Maoz, and the Silver Lion – Award for Best Director went to Xavier Legrand for his film Custody (Jusqu’à la Garde). Custody also won the award for Lion of The Future “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film.
2017 Venice International Film Festival Awards

VENEZIA 74
GOLDEN LION for Best Film to: THE SHAPE OF WATER by Guillermo del Toro (USA) SILVER LION – GRAND JURY PRIZE to: FOXTROT by Samuel Maoz (Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland) SILVER LION – AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR to: Xavier Legrand for the film JUSQU’À LA GARDE (France) COPPA VOLPI for Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling in the film HANNAH by Andrea Pallaoro (Italy, Belgium, France) COPPA VOLPI for Best Actor: Kamel El Basha in the film THE INSULT by Ziad Doueiri (Lebanon, France) AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY to: Martin McDonagh for the film THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI by Martin McDonagh (Great Britain) SPECIAL JURY PRIZE to: SWEET COUNTRY by Warwick Thornton (Australia) MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD for Best Young Actor or Actress to: Charlie Plummer in the film LEAN ON PETE by Andrew Haigh (Great Britain)
ORIZZONTI
ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST FILM to: NICO, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy, Belgium) ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR to: Vahid Jalilvand for BEDOUNE TARIKH, BEDOUNE EMZA (NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE) (Iran) SPECIAL ORIZZONTI JURY PRIZE to: CANIBA by Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (France, USA) ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS to: Lyna Khoudri in LES BIENHEUREUX by Sofia Djama (France, Belgium, Qatar) ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR to: Navid Mohammadzadeh in BEDOUNE TARIKH, BEDOUNE EMZA (NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE) by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran) ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY to: Alireza Khatami for LOS VERSOS DEL OLVIDO by Alireza Khatami (France, Germany, Netherlands, Chile) ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM to: GROS CHAGRIN by Céline Devaux (France) VENICE SHORT FILM NOMINATION FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2017 to: GROS CHAGRIN by Céline Devaux (France)
VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM
LION OF THE FUTURE “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM to: JUSQU’À LA GARDE by Xavier Legrand (France) VENEZIA 74
VENICE CLASSICS
VENICE CLASSICS AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CINEMA to: THE PRINCE AND THE DYBBUK by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski (Poland, Germany) VENICE CLASSICS AWARD FOR BEST RESTORED FILM to: IDI I SMOTRI (COME AND SEE) by Elem Klimov (USSR, 1985)
VENICE VIRTUAL REALITY
BEST VR AWARD to: ARDEN’S WAKE (EXPANDED) by Eugene YK Chung (USA) BEST VR EXPERIENCE AWARD (FOR INTERACTIVE CONTENT) to: LA CAMERA INSABBIATA by Laurie Anderson and Hsin-Chien Huang (USA, Taiwan) BEST VR STORY AWARD (FOR LINEAR CONTENT) to: BLOODLESS by Gina Kim (South Korea, USA)
COLLATERAL AWARDS
Arca CinemaGiovani Award Venezia 74 Best Film: FOXTROT by Samuel Maoz Best Italian Film: BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Giorgio Ferrero BNL People’s Choice Award – Giornate degli Autori GA’AGUA (LONGING) by Savi Gabizon Brian Award LES BIENHEUREUX by Sofia Djama Circolo del Cinema di Verona Award – 32nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week TEAM HURRICANE by Annika Berg Civitas Vitae Award IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE by Silvio Soldini Fair Play Cinema Award EX LIBRIS – THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY by Frederick Wiseman Special Mention: HUMAN FLOW by Ai Weiwei Fedeora Award (Federazione dei Critici Europei e dei Paesi Mediterranei) Best Film: EYE ON JULIET by Kim Nguyen Best Director of a Debut Film: SARA FORESTIER for M Best Actor: REDOUANNE HARJANE for M FEDIC Award LA VITA IN COMUNE by Edoardo Winspeare Special Mention: NICO, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli Mention FEDIC – Il giornale del cibo: LE VISITE by Elio Di Pace FIPRESCI Award EX LIBRIS – THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY by Frederick Wiseman Best Debut Film: LOS VERSOS DEL OLVIDO by Alireza Khatami Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award GEORGE CLOONEY, MICHAEL CAINE and AI WEIWEI Enrico Fulchignoni – CICT-UNESCO Award HUMAN FLOW by Ai Weiwei Future Film Festival Digital Award THE SHAPE OF WATER by Guillermo del Toro Special Mention: GATTA CENERENTOLA by A. Rak, I. Cappiello, M. Guarnieri, D. Sansone GdA Director’s Award – Giornate degli Autori CANDELARIA by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza Green Drop Award FIRST REFORMED by Paul Schrader HRNs Award – Special Prize for Human Rights THE RAPE OF RACY TAYLOR by Nancy Buirski Special Mention: L’ORDINE DELLE COSE by Andrea Segre Special Mention: HUMAN FLOW by Ai Weiwei Interfilm Award LOS VERSOS DEL OLVIDO by Alireza Khatami Label Europa Cinemas Award M by Sara Forestier Lanterna Magica Award (CGS) L’EQUILIBRIO by Vincenzo Marra La Pellicola d’Oro Award Best Production Manager in an Italian Film: DANIELE SPINOZZI for Ammore e Malavita Best Production Manager in an International Film: RICCARDO MARCHEGIANI for Mektoub My Love: Canto Uno Best Stagehand: ROBERTO DI PIETRO for Hannah Leoncino d’Oro Agiscuola Award THE LEISURE SEEKER by Paolo Virzì Cinema for UNICEF Award: HUMAN FLOW by Ai Weiwei Lizzani Award GÉRÔME BOURDEZEAU and DOMINIQUE BATTESTI IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE by Silvio Soldini Lina Mangiacapre Award LES BIENHEUREUX by Sofia Djama Mouse d’Oro Award MEKTOUB, MY LOVE: CANTO UNO by Abdellatif Kechiche Mouse d’Argento Award: GATTA CENERENTOLA by A. Rak, I. Cappiello, M. Guarnieri, D. Sansone NuovoImaie Talent Award FEDERICA ROSELLINI for Dove cadono le ombre MIMMO BORRELLI for L’equilibrio Open Award GATTA CENERENTOLA by A. Rak, I. Cappiello, M. Guarnieri, D. Sansone Francesco Pasinetti Award – SNGCI AMMORE E MALAVITA by Manetti Bros. Special Award: GATTA CENERENTOLA by A. Rak, I. Cappiello, M. Guarnieri, D. Sansone Special Award: NICO, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli Gillo Pontecorvo Award – Arcobaleno Latino MIAO XIAOTIAN, CEO of China Film Coproduction Corporation Queer Lion Award MARVIN by Anne Fontaine Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for the Best Technical Contribution – 32nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week LES GARÇONS SAUVAGES by Bertrand Mandico Sfera 1932 Award LA MÉLODIE by Rachid Hami SIAE Audience Award – 32nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week TEMPORADA DE CAZA by Natalia Garagiola SIGNIS Award LA VILLA by Robert Guédiguian Special Mention: FOXTROT by Samuel Maoz C. Smithers Foundation Award – CICT-UNESCO THE SHAPE OF WATER by Guillermo del Toro Sorriso Diverso Venezia 2017 Award – Ass Ucl IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE by Silvio Soldini Soundtrack Stars Award ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Shape of Water Special Award: AMMORE E MALAVITA by Manetti Bros. Lifetime Achievement Award to ANDREA GUERRA UNIMED Award LA VILLA by Robert Guédiguian Special Mention: BRUTTI E CATTIVI by Cosimo Gomez image via Twitter
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Director Stephen Frears Receives Glory to the Filmmaker Award at Venice International Film Festival

Yesterday, in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, director Stephen Frears received the Glory to the Filmmaker award for his significant contribution to innovation in contemporary cinema. Director Stephen Frears received The Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory To The Filmmaker Award and Reverso engraved watched from Chief Marketing Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre Nicolas Siriez (L) and festival director Alberto Barbera (R). (Photo by Sebastiano Pessina) Following the award ceremony, the Festival presented the Out of Competition screening of Frears’ new film Victoria & Abdul, receiving its world premiere screening in Venice.
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Director Stephen Frears to Receive Award at Venice International Film Festival

Director Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons) will receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, dedicated to a personality who has made an original contribution to innovation in contemporary cinema. Stephen Frears will be awarded the prize at a ceremony to be held on Sunday September 3rd, before the Out of Competition screening of his new film Victoria & Abdul, receiving its world premiere screening in Venice. The film is set in 1887, when Abdul travels from India to present a ceremonial medal as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee but surprisingly finds favor with the elderly Queen. The unprecedented and unlikely relationship causes a battle royale within the royal household, pitting the Queen against court and family. Victoria & Abdul humorously explores questions of race, religion, power, and the farce of Empire through the prism of a highly unusual and deeply moving friendship. The Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, made the following statement about the award: “Prolific and unpredictable, eclectic and provocative, Stephen Frears seems to challenge the very idea of a monolithic definition of his cinema. Along with Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, he is one of the most vibrant and representative exponents of contemporary British cinema. As opposed to many other directors, he is not afraid of seeming self-contradictory: he nonchalantly passes from the social realism of the 1980s to biographies, from comedies to historical dramas, alternating British and American movies, low-budget and high-budget productions, cinema and television, and each time he is at ease. This evident contrast might be the most interesting aspect of his work, along with his universally recognized qualities: an uncommon sensitivity in the way he directs his actors; the ability to get the most out of his relationship with famous authors (Alan Bennet, Christopher Hampton, Hanif Kureishi, Nick Hornby); his apparent modesty, which consists in subordinating style to the demands of the material. A great narrator of stories with recurring topics, such as his attention to oppressed and marginalized characters, in his best movies Frears has the rare gift of creating a portrait of British society: sharp, caustic, unconventional, and simultaneously disturbing and amusing.”
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World Premiere of COUSIN, COUSINE An Unreleased Short by French Filmmaker Jean Rouch Added to Venice Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_23855" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Jean Rouch[/caption] For the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great French director and ethnographer Jean Rouch, the Venice Film Festival adds to its line-up the world-premiere screening of Cousin, cousine (1985-1987, 31′, color), the only film that Rouch made in Venice, the very unusual and previously unreleased short film, with Damouré Zika and Mariama Hima (Venice Classics). Cousin, cousine has been fully restored by the French CNC (Centre national du cinéma e de l’image animée) in collaboration with the Fondation Jean Rouch and the Association Centenaire Jean Rouch 2017. Cousin, cousine is a “caprice” invented in Venice by Jean Rouch and by his two friends and performers, Nigerian actor Damouré Zika and Nigerian filmmaker Mariama Hima, who came to the Venice Film Festival in 1985 to present Mariama Hima’s film Baabu Banza in the “Venezia Genti” section, where it won an award. On that occasion, they decided to make a film fantasy built around a painting by Gentile Bellini and several locations and stories within the city. The plot has Mariama and Damouré, two cousins, meeting in Venice to look for a long-lost relic, like in one of Gentile Bellini’s most famous paintings. Mariama thus introduces Damouré to the city, taking him to a “squero”, a boatyard where he can study how gondolas are made (which is very different from building pirogues). Cousin, cousine will screen at the 74th Venice Film Festival in the Venice Classics section, following the documentary L’Enigma di Jean Rouch a Torino – Cronaca di un film raté by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and Daniele Pianciola. Jean Rouch (1917-2004), a French ethnographer and director, made over 180 films (some unfinished), along with a great number of photographs, sound recordings and writings of various kinds. He founded important centres and institutions such as the Comité du film ethnographique and events such as the Cinéma du Réel festival. He taught, defended and promoted ethnographic and documentary filmmaking, and visual anthropology.
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3 New Films Including World Premiere of MANHUNT by John Woo Added to Venice International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_23516" align="aligncenter" width="805"] John Woo[/caption] The world premieres of Manhunt by John Woo; L’ordine delle cose by Andrea Segre; L’Enigma di Jean Rouch a Torino by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro, Daniele Pianciola have been added to the lineup of the 74th Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. MANHUNT (ZHUIBU) The much-awaited return of John Woo to the crime thriller movies which made him famous, The Killer and Hardboiled. A contemporary remake of a Japanese classic of the genre, it’s the story of a Chinese man who is framed for murder in Japan; he tries to clear his name as he dodges a manhunt organized by the Japanese police and the attacks of mysterious killers. John Woo (A Better Tomorrow, Face/Off) received the Golden Lion for Career Achievement in Venice in 2010. The film will be presented Out of Competition. L’ORDINE DELLE COSE The film by Andrea Segre (Shun Li and the Poet, First Snowfall) tells the story of Corrado, a policeman who is a member of a task force running the system which controls the flow of immigrants. Corrado is sent to coordinate a delicate mission in Libya, where he meets Swada, a young Somali woman who is trying to rejoin her husband in Finland. The film will be presented in Special Screenings. L’ENIGMA DI JEAN ROUCH A TORINO – CRONACA DI UN FILM RATÉ The film by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and Daniele Pianciola is a documentary about a true “laboratory of ideas” and the film it generated: Enigma. The documentary reconstructs the two years between the arrival of Jean Rouch and the project’s conclusion, and is told through the voices of its protagonists as they dialogue with extraordinary material: over 20 hours of making-of. The film will be presented in the competitive section Venezia Classici – Documentaries.
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2017 Venice Film Festival Unveils Official Lineup Featuring George Clooney, Darren Aronofsky and More

[caption id="attachment_23335" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Suburbicon[/caption] The Venice Film Festival today revealed the official lineup of films for the 74th edition of the festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The in-competition lineup features films Mother! by Darren Aronofsky, Suburbicon by George Clooney, and Downsizing by Alexander Payne.
Venezia 74
International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres AI WEIWEI – HUMAN FLOW Germany, USA, 140’ DARREN ARONOFSKY – MOTHER! USA, 120’ Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris GEORGE CLOONEY – SUBURBICON USA, 104’ Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, Oscar Isaac GUILLERMO DEL TORO – THE SHAPE OF WATER USA, 119’ Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer ZIAD DOUEIRI – L’INSULTE France, Lebanon, 110’ Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Rita Hayek ROBERT GUÉDIGUIAN – LA VILLA France, 107’ Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Jacques Boudet, Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stévenin ANDREW HAIGH – LEAN ON PETE United Kingdom, 121’ Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny ABDELLATIF KECHICHE – MEKTOUB, MY LOVE: CANTO UNO France, Italy, 180’ Shain Boumedine, Ophélie Baufle, Salim Kechiouche, Lou Luttiau, Alexia Chardard, Hafsia Herzi KOREEDA HIROKAZU – SANDOME NO SATSUJIN (THE THIRD MURDER) Japan, 124’ Fukuyama Masaharu, Yakusho Koji, Hirose Suzu XAVIER LEGRAND – JUSQU’À LA GARDE France, 90’ Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Saadia Bentaïeb MANETTI BROS. – AMMORE E MALAVITA Italia, 133’ Giampaolo Morelli, Serena Rossi, Claudia Gerini, Carlo Buccirosso SAMUEL MAOZ – FOXTROT Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland, 113’ Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray MARTIN MCDONAGH – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI United Kingdom, 110’ Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage ANDREA PALLAORO – HANNAH Italy, Belgium, France, 95’ Charlotte Rampling, André Wilms ALEXANDER PAYNE – DOWNSIZING USA, 140’ Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig VIVIAN QU – JIA NIAN HUA (ANGELS WEAR WHITE) China, France, 107’ Wen Qi, Zhou Meijun, Shi Ke, Geng Le, Liu Weiwei, Peng Jing SEBASTIANO RISO – UNA FAMIGLIA Italy, 105’ Micaela Ramazzotti, Patrick Bruel PAUL SCHRADER – FIRST REFORMED USA, 108’ Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles WARWICK THORNTON – SWEET COUNTRY Australia, 112’ con Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright PAOLO VIRZÌ – THE LEISURE SEEKER Italia, 112’ Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland FREDERICK WISEMAN – EX LIBRIS. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY USA, 197’
Out of Competition
Important works by directors already established in previous editions of the Festival JON ALPERT – CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN [NON-FICTION] USA, 113’ GIANNI AMELIO – CASA D’ALTRI [SPECIAL EVENTS] Italy, 16’ RITESH BATRA – OUR SOULS AT NIGHT USA, 101’ Jane Fonda, Robert Redford DAVID BATTY – MY GENERATION [NON-FICTION] United Kingdom, 85’ Michael Caine ANTONIETTA DE LILLO – IL SIGNOR ROTPETER Italy, 37’ Marina Confalone ABEL FERRARA – PIAZZA VITTORIO [NON-FICTION] Italy, 82’ STEPHEN FREARS – VICTORIA & ABDUL United Kingdom, 149’ Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard WILLIAM FRIEDKIN – THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH [NON-FICTION] USA, 68’ RACHID HAMI – LA MÉLODIE France, 102’ Kad Merad, Samir Guesmi, Renély Alfred, Youssouf Gueye TAKESHI KITANO – OUTRAGE CODA Japan, 104’ Beat Takeshi, Nishida Toshiyuki JERRY KRAMER – MAKING OF MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 45’ JOHN LANDIS – MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER 3D [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 14’ Michael Jackson, Ola Ray FERNANDO LEÓN DE ARANOA – LOVING PABLO Spain, Bulgaria, 123’ Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard LUCRECIA MARTEL – ZAMA Argentina, Brazil, 115’ Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Juan Minujín DANIEL MCCABE – THIS IS CONGO [NON-FICTION] Congo, 91’ ERROL MORRIS – WORMWOOD USA, 300’ (TV series, 6 episodes) Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Christian Camargo, Scott Shepherd, Tim Blake Nelson, Bob Balaban STEPHEN NOMURA SCHIBLE – RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA [NON-FICTION] USA, Japan, 100’ FRANCESCO PATIERNO – DIVA! Italy, 75’ Barbora Bobulova, Anita Caprioli, Carolina Crescentini, Silvia D’Amico, Isabella Ferrari, Carlotta Natoli, Greta Scarano, Anna Foglietta, Michele Riondino MICHAËL R. ROSKAM – LE FIDÈLE Belgium, France, Netherlands, 130’ Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos CHRIS SMITH – JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND. THE STORY OF JIM CARREY, ANDY KAUFMAN AND TONY CLIFTON [NON-FICTION] USA, Canada, 90’ SILVIO SOLDINI – IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE Italy, Switzerland, 115’ Valeria Golino, Adriano Giannini, Arianna Scommegna, Laura Adriani JAMES TOBACK – THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A MODERN WOMAN USA, 71’ Sienna Miller, Alec Baldwin, Charles Grodin, Colleen Camp, Carl Icahn GIOVANNI TOTARO – HAPPY WINTER [NON-FICTION] Italy, 91’ S. CRAIG ZAHLER – BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 USA, 132’ Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier
Venice Virtual Reality
Competitive section of VR films, with a selection of out-of-competition VR films NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – MELITA USA, 24’ (Animation) LAURIE ANDERSON, HUANG HSIN-CHIEN – LA CAMERA INSABBIATA USA, 20’ (Animation) GABO ARORA – THE LAST GOODBYE USA, 20’ LYSANDER ASHTON, LEO WARNER – MY NAME IS PETER STILLMAN United Kingdom, 6’ (Amimation) MATHIAS CHELEBOURG – ALICE, THE VIRTUAL REALITY PLAY France, 20’ Robin Berry, Josh Jefferies EUGENE YK CHUNG – ARDEN’S WAKE EXPANDED USA, 16’ (Animation) NONNY DE LA PEÑA – GREENLAND MELTING USA, 11’ GINA KIM – DONGDUCHEON (BLOODLESS) South Korea, USA, 12’ URI KRANOT, MICHELLE KRANOT – NOTHING HAPPENS Denmark, France, 14’ (Animation) MI LI – SHI MENG LAO REN (THE DREAM COLLECTOR) China, 11’ (Animation) RICHARD MILLS, KIM-LEIGH PONTIN – NEFERTITI United Kingdom, 15’ (Animation) RAFAEL PAVÓN, NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE USA, 5’ Rupert Grint, Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor
Orizzonti
A competition dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema ALI ASGARI – NAPADID SHODAN (DISAPPEARANCE) Iran, Qatar, 89′ with Sadaf Asgari, Amir Reza Ranjbaran, Nafiseh Zare, Sahar Sotoodeh GILLES BOURDOS – ESPÈCES MENACÉES France, Belgium, 105’ with Alice Isaaz, Vincent Rottiers, Grégory Gadebois, Suzanne Clément NANCY BUIRSKI – THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR Usa, 91′ LUCIEN CASTAING-TAYLOR, VERENA PARAVEL – CANIBA France , 90′ SOFIA DJAMA – LES BIENHEUREUX France, Belgium, 102′ with Sami Bouajila, Nadia Kaci, Amine Lansari, Lyna Khoudri ANNE FONTAINE – MARVIN France , 115′ with Finnegan Oldfield, Isabelle Huppert, Grégory Gadebois, Vincent Macaigne PABLO GIORGELLI – INVISIBLE Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, 87’ with Mora Arenillas, Mara Bestelli, Diego Cremonesi COSIMO GOMEZ – BRUTTI E CATTIVI Italy, France, 87’ with Claudio Santamaria, Marco D’Amore, Sara Serraiocco TZAHI GRAD – HA BEN DOD (THE COUSIN) Israel, 92′ with Ala Dakka, Tzahi Grad, Osnat Fishman AMICHAI GREENBERG – HA EDUT (THE TESTAMENT) Israel, Austria, 91’ with Ori Pfeffer, Rivka Gur, Hagit Dasberg Shamul, Ori Yaniv
Cinema nel Giardino
Films, talks, and visions DARIO ALBERTINI – MANUEL Italy, 97’ Andrea Lattanzi, Giulia Elettra Gorietti, Francesca Antonelli, Raffaella Rea RÄ DI MARTINO – CONTROFIGURA Italy, France, Morocco, Switzerland, 75’ Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Corrado Sassi, Nadia Kounda, Younes Bouab KATE MULLEAVY, LAURA MULLEAVY – WOODSHOCK USA, 116’ Kirsten Dunst, Pilou Asbaek, Joe Cole, Stephan Duvall BRUNO OLIVIERO – NATO A CASAL DI PRINCIPE Italy, Spain, 96’ Alessio Lapice, Massimiliano Gallo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Lucia Sardo, Antonio Pennarella MICHELE PLACIDO, ANDREA MOLAIOLI, GIUSEPPE CAPOTONDI – SUBURRA. LA SERIE Italy, 100’ Alessandro Borghi, Giacomo Ferrara, Eduardo Valdarnini, Francesco Acquaroli, Filippo Nigro, Claudia Gerini FRANÇOIS TROUKENS, JEAN-FRANÇOIS HENSGENS – TUEURS Belgium, France, 86’ Olivier Gourmet, Lubna Azabal, Kevin Janssens, Bouli Lanners
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7 Feature Films to Compete at 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week

[caption id="attachment_23259" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Pin Cushion[/caption] The 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week will screen a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special events out of competition, all presented in world premiere screenings. The Venice International Film Critics’ Week is an independent and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) during the 74th Venice International Film Festival running August 30th to September 9th, 2017. The selection is curated by the General Delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week Giona A. Nazzaro together with the members of the selection committee Luigi Abiusi, Alberto Anile, Beatrice Fiorentino and Massimo Tria. The DC Comics and Marvel Comics illustrator Carmine Di Giandomenico designed the futuristic cinematic muse for the 32nd edition of the independent sidebar dedicated to debut feature films. The 2017 Venice International Film Critics’ Week official selection includes:
COMPETITION
IL CRATERE | CRATER by Luca Bellino, Silvia Luzi (Italy) DRIFT by Helena Wittmann (Germany) LES GARÇONS SAUVAGES| THE WILD BOYS by Bertrand Mandico (France) KÖRFEZ | THE GULF by Emre Yeksan (Turkey, Germany, Greece) SARAH JOUE UN LOUP GAROU | SARAH PLAYS A WEREWOLF by Katharina Wyss (Switzerland, Germany) TEAM HURRICANE by Annika Berg (Denmark) TEMPORADA DE CAZA | HUNTING SEASON by Natalia Garagiola (Argentina, USA, Germany, France, Qatar)
SPECIAL EVENTS – OUT OF COMPETITION
Opening Film PIN CUSHION by Deborah Haywood (United Kingdom) Closing Film VELENO | POISON – THE LAND OF FIRES by Diego Olivares (Italy)
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