Venice Days, “modeled on the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Festival and promoted by the associations of Italian film directors and authors (Anac and 100autori),” has announced the lineup for its fourteenth edition, running from August 30 through September 9. Variety’s Nick Vivarelli has passed along the titles; we’ll be adding notes on each of them.
COMPETITION
Faouzi Bensaidi’s Volubilis. From Doc&Film International: “In the Moroccan city of Meknes, recently married Abdelkader and Malika struggle to make ends meet. They dream of leaving the family house and finally start a life of their own together. But one day at work, Abdelkader experiences a violent incident that will turn their destiny upside down. Volubilis is a tale of love in a world of despair, of beauty among the ruins.”
Matteo Botrugno and Daniele Coluccini’s The Contagion. From Cinando: “Il contagio tells the story of two seemingly distant but complementary worlds which depend on each other to exist. It not only describes these suburbs as a closed universe, but shows the dynamics that lead to the contagion of the ‘underworld’ with that of ‘above.’”
Sara Forestier’s M. From mk2 films:
Lila and Mo meet at a bus stop.
Lila has a paralysing speech impediment.
Mo is chatty and exuberant.
Lila is preparing for her exams.
Mo illegally races cars for a living.
Opposites attract, and they fall in love.
But Mo carries a secret burden. . .
Savi Gabizon’s Longing.
Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza’s Candelaria.
Ruth Mader’s Life Guidance.
Vincenzo Marra’s L’Equilibrio.
Shirin Neshat’s Looking for Oum Kulthum. Image above. From coop99 Filmproduktion:
Mitra, an ambitious artist, mother and wife in her late 40s, embarks on her lifelong dream of making a film about her hero, the legendary singer of the Arab World, Oum Kulthum. Her film’s central aim is to explore the struggles, sacrifices and the price of Oum Kulthum’s success as a female artist living in a conservative male dominated society. Mitra herself achieved fame and success abroad, but her career choices made it impossible to return home, which separated her from her son and family. The increasing difficulties of capturing Oum Kulthum’s essence as a myth, a woman, and an artist lead Mitra to have a complete breakdown. Now Ghada, an exceptionally gifted actress and singer playing the role of Oum Kulthum, comes to Mitra’s rescue, as she is connected to the core of life and femininity and is naturally wise. Through this Mitra achieves self-realization and an artistic breakthrough.
Kim Nguyen’s Eye on Juliet. From Films Distribution: “A love story through the eye of a spider drone. Across the landscape of a Middle Eastern desert and an oil pipeline, appears a strange spider-like robot that seems to be scoping the horizon. At the other end of the world, in America, Gordon, drone operator and safe keeper of the pipeline, surveys the desolated landscapes from his screens. Having lost his way in a world he no longer comprehends, he becomes fascinated by Ayusha, a young woman promised to an older man she doesn’t love. Despite the distance, their mutual fear and their imperfect interaction, Gordon will do everything in his power to help Ayusha escape her fate, falling for her in the process.”
Valentina Pedicini’s Where Shadows Fall.
Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s Samui Song. From Urban Distribution: “Viyada, a Thai soap opera actress in her mid-30s, finds herself increasingly pressured by her husband Jerome, a rich foreigner entirely devoted to a charismatic cult leader called The Holy One. Viyada has no other choice than to take the most drastic measures in order to escape once and for all from their influence.” For much more, see augenschein Filmproduktion.
Pengfei’s The Taste of Rice Flower. From Richard Yu, writing for Cinema Escapist: “Set along the Sino-Burmese border in Yunnan province, the movie stars actress Ying Ze as an ethnically Dai woman named Ye Nan who returns to her village to take care of her troublesome 11 year-old son. The film addresses issues of poverty, religion, and the survival of minority traditions in the face of a modernizing China.”
WOMEN’S TALES PROJECT
Shorts made in collaboration with Prada’s Miu Miu Label
Celia Rowlson-Hall’s #14 (The [End of History Illusion].
Chloë Sevigny’s Carmen.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Alessandro D’Alatri’s La Legge Del Numero Uno.
Giovanni Donfrancesco’s The Resolute.
Nick Hooker’s Agnelli.
James Lester’s Getting Naked: A Burlesque Story.
Ermanno Olmi’s Il Tentato Suicidio NellAdolescenza.
Nathan Silver’s Thirst Street.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Anne-Riitta Ciccone’s I’m (endless like the space).
Wilma Labate’s Raccontare Venezia.
Claudio Santamaria’s The Millionaires.
Samira Makhmalbaf will preside over this year’s jury. Yesterday, we posted the lineup for the thirty-second edition of Venice International Film Critics’ Week and, for an update on all we know so far about the main event, the seventy-fourth edition of the Venice International Film Festival, see Friday’s entry.
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