The XIII edition of Venice Days
The XIII edition of Venice Days will take place in Venice from 31 August to 10 September, held by the Venice Days Association presided over by Roberto Barzanti, promoted by the Italian Association of Filmmakers (ANAC) and 100autori, directed by Giorgio Gosetti, and organised with the support of the Directorate General for Cinema of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and contributions from public and private partners.
An autonomous and independent section of the Venice International Film Festival, over time Venice Days has become an integral part of the oldest film festival in the world, and has always accompanied its high-quality independent film selections with a dynamic programme of research, exchanges and discussions held at the Villa degli Autori.
Quintessentially international, with a selection of world and international premieres and a special focus on Europe thanks to its partnership with the European Parliament on the 28 Times Cinema initiative and the LUX Prize, the image of Venice Days is one of an event that defends creativity, innovation and research into new audiovisual jargon, along with the free circulation of ideas.
“This selection is strongly characterised – observes General Delegate Giorgio Gosetti – by the female creativity that flows through most of the films we’ve seen and most of those that have been chosen. It reflects the way that for years now, we’ve placed the female world – also through our work with creative partner Miu Miu on the ‘Women’s Tales’ project – at the centre of our research. But it’s also a strong sign of the vitality and rejuvenation of the art of film, which, by no coincidence, is confirmed in the exceptional number and quality of first and second works we believe in”.
This year, twenty nationalities will be represented (including those of the authors), with seven first works, seven female authors, three Italian films made with financial support from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, eleven titles competing for the Venice Days Award (with a cash prize of ? 20,000, split evenly between the director and the World Sales), which is awarded by a jury of twenty-eight young European film enthusiasts, chosen in partnership with the European Parliament and Europa Cinemas and coordinated by the director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Karel Och.
The jury will be presided over this year by the ingenious Canadian writer, photographer and director Bruce La Bruce, who attended Venice Days back in 2013 with Gerontophilia.
The European films in the selection will compete for the Europa Cinemas Label, which is awarded by a jury of exhibitors, whilst an Audience Award will be awarded by audiences at the Festival thanks to contributions from BNL – Gruppo BNP Paribas (main sponsor).
Last but not least, the debut works screened at Venice Days will compete for the Luigi De Laurentiis award for Best Debut Film, which is awarded to a debut work chosen from those screened across all sections of the Festival.
Many of the most popular genres for telling stories through film will be represented in this year’s selection, albeit with a healthy dose of expressive originality, including documentary (The War Show), coming-of-age (Heartstone and Polina), melodrama (Indivisibili and Pamylia Ordinaryo), suspense thriller (Hounds of Love), western (Pariente), and road-movie (The Road to Mandalay) genres, without forgetting the family drama, reinterpreted through realist (La ragazza del mondo), grotesque (Quit Staring at My Plate), and biographical (Sami Blood) styles. From Syria to Bolivia, from Sweden to Asia, the overarching themes of politics and social unease run like open and hidden veins through many of the films in the selection; but once more, it is individuals that single-handedly fight against the bluntness of destiny and society, demonstrating the confusion with no easy consolatory solutions that characterises civilization today. It is also due to this dramatic contrast and the devastating strength of a reality that is never just a show that Venice Days 2016 will be opened by an emotional video diary from the heart of Syria, The War Show, by Danish director Andreas Dalsgaard and Syrian filmmaker Obaidah Zytoon.
The special events, which will also characterise some of the evenings at the Villa degli Autori this year, have been chosen out of competition for the themes, reasons and nature they bring to light, which fuel the reflections and dialogue so typical of Venice Days. This is the case for the first official co-production between Italy and China, Coffee by Cristiano Bortone, which rounds off a series of initiatives dedicated to dialogue between the two cultures, as this marches forward this year with the third edition of the China Film Forum; it’s also the case for the dialogues on faith, immigration and humanity that unite the reflections of two very different artists such as Giorgio Pressburger (Il profumo del tempo delle favole) and Pippo Delbono, who is attending Venice Days this year in both his capacity as an actor (La ragazza del mondo) and as the director/narrator of his provocative Vangelo. It is also the case for the portrayals of two icons of transgression like Rocco and You Never Had It, a conversation from the past with the ‘scandalous’ Charles Bukowski.
The series of special events is completed by Venice Days’ partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival, which each year brings one of its American titles to Venice in its international premiere (this year Always Shine by Sophia Takal), the short films from the Women’s Tales series, this year by the authors Naomi Kawase and Crystal Moselle, and a surprise film that will be announced at a later date, along with the closing film of the 2016 edition.
As with past editions, this year Venice Days can rely on various partners to support and enrich its activities: the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE), which will award the Career Award and a Special Mention to one of the Italian films in the selection; the authors associations (ANAC and 100autori), which will enliven days of in-depth thematic analysis; Miu Miu, with a series of discussions on female creativity; Bridging the Dragon, which runs the China Film Forum along with Doc/it, bringing its activities to support real-life cinema to Venice; media partners Cinecittà News, Cineuropa and Fred, and the LUX Prize, which brings the three finalist films of the year to Venice; along with the Trentino Film Commission and Sub-ti.
Venice Days is held in association with the Biennale di Venezia.
“Legendary, seductive, an unsettling mutant, the symbol of this year’s XIII edition is the Mermaid – says Giorgio Gosetti – a tribute to femininity and the sea that gave birth to Venice, and to that fleeting and unique quality of art and human invention. We’re not mermaids, but we’re fighting for their survival”.
