French director Élise Girard’s “Sidonie in Japan,” starring Isabelle Huppert as a French writermourning her husband’s death whileon a book tour of Japan, is among titles set to launch from the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Giornate Degli Autori.
The section, also known as Venice Days, has unveiled its lineup comprising 10 titles world premiering in competition – six of which are first works – and in other sections displaying a wide range of genres and visual styles, but tied together by “a common discourse,” said the section’s artistic director Gaia Furrer.
The selected films “with all their thematic or formal eclecticism, still dialogue with each other,” Furrer said in a statement.
Opening the section in competition is Italian director Tommaso Santambrogio’s black-and-white drama “Oceans Are the Real Continents,” set and shot in decadent contemporary Cuba (see image below). This is Santambrogio’s first feature, but expands from his well-received short by the same title about a Cuban couple in their 30s and the daily gestures of the their love story.
Other standout titles in the Venice section, which is modelled on Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, comprise debuting Canadian director Ariane Louis-Seize’s dark comedy “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,” about a young vampire named Sasha who is too sensitive to kill people for blood and finds a depressed young man willing to help with her problem; a history-themed drama by Malaysian Chinese director Chong Keat Aun (“The Story of Southern Islet”) titled “Snow in Midsummer,” about a present-day woman who delves into the events of a 1969 riot in Kuala Lumpur that saw two of her relatives killed; and Greek director Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer buddy comedy “The Summer With Carmen.”
Asian cinema is present in the Venice Days competition also, with a new work by Japanese director Kyoshi Sugita (“Haruhara San’s Recorder”), a delicate relationships drama titled “Following the Sound.” Belgium is repped by Delphine Girard’s first feature “Through the Night,” based on her Oscar-nominated short film, “A Sister.”
The out-of-competition closer is “Coup!,” an American period satire co-directed by Austin Stark (“The Runner”) and Joseph Schuman. It stars Peter Sarsgaard (see image below) as a rebellious servant who spearheads an uprising on a seaside estate against his wealthy employer.
Shorts by Mexican director Lila Avilés (“The Chambermaid,” “Tótem”) and Croatian-American filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (“Murina”) will unspool as part of the Prada-commissioned Miu Miu Women’s Tales, a series of short films directed by women.
Cutting-edge French director and screenwriter Celine Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) also has a short screening in Venice Days, titled “This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet.”
A jury of 27 young film buffs from 27 EU countries will decide the Venice Days prizes, under the guidance of Portuguesewriter-director João Pedro Rodrigues (“Will-o’-the-Wisp”).
The 20th edition of Venice Days will run concurrently with the Venice Film Festival from Aug. 30-Sept. 9.
VENICE DAYS LINEUP
IN COMPETITION
“Oceans Are The Real Continents,” (Italy-Cuba) OPENING FILM
“Milk,” Stefanie Kolk (The Netherlands)
“Sidonie in Japan,” Élise Girard(France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland)
“Foremost By Night,” Victor Iriarte (Spain, Portugal, France)
“Humanist Vampire Seeking Consensual Suicidal Person,” Ariane Louis-Seize (Canada)
“Snow in Midsummer,” Chong Keat Aun (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore)
“Backstage,” Afef Ben Mahmoud, Khalil Benkirane (Morocco, Tunisia, Belgium, France, Qatar, Norway, Saudi Arabia) Switzerland)
“The Summer With Carmen,” Zacharias Mavroeidis (Greece)
“Following the Sound,” Kyoshi Sugita (Japan)
“Through the Night,” Delphine Girard (Belgium, Canada, France)
OUT OF COMPETITION
“Coup!,” Austin Stark, Joseph Schuman (U.S.) CLOSING FILM
SPECIAL EVENTS
“The Sun Will Rise,” Ayat Najafi (France, Iran)
“Bye Bye Tiberias,” Lina Soualem (France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar)
“Photophobia,” Ivan Ostrochovsky, Pavol Pekarcik (Slovenia, Czech Republic, Ukraine)
“This is How a Child Becomes a Poet,” Céline Sciamma (France)
“21 Days Until the End of the World,” Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Mecedonia)
“The Outpost,” Edoardo Morabito (Italy, Brazil)
“L’Expérience Zola,” Gianluca Matarrese (France, Italy)
WOMEN’S TALES PROJECT (shorts), in collaboration with Prada’s Miu Miu Label
“Eye Two Times Mouth,” Lila Avilés (Mexico)
“Stane,” Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (Croatia)
