It’s cinema, baby!

By now, talking about the “Barbera era” sounds far from rhetorical or emphatic. It’s simply a fact. As we do every year, we met him on the eve of the Festival to hear about an edition that truly embraces cinema in all its expressive languages, crossing generations, genres, and geographies. Needless to say, the deafening absence of a not-so-insignificant guest last year – Hollywood – now making a grand return to the Lido’s red carpet, adds to the exciting anticipation. Enjoy your journey into the heart of the festival!

The selection process… After the pandemic and the strike
Before 2020, we used to work hard from March, when we started watching the first movies waiting for the bulk of films which would arrive from the second half of May. Now things have fully changed: the first films for this edition began to arrive between November and December and from January onwards my collaborators and I have done nothing but see films every day, often also at weekends. Before the pandemic those who had a film ready in autumn presented it for viewing in Berlin or at Sundance, those who reached the end of production in spring tried to have it selected by Cannes, those who finished the film in summer aimed at Venice. Today, when a director has a film ready, he sends it everywhere immediately, asking for a very quick response. So, a film is viewed at the same time by the selectors of Sundance, Berlin, Telluride, Cannes, Venice, San Sebastian, Toronto, London, New York, Locarno. It is difficult to make non-experts understand how ungovernable such dynamics are and how they make difficult the selection work, often forcing us to work in the dark guided by the anxiety of filling up slots in February that we then regret not having left free for better and more suitable products received maybe at the last moment in summer for our official selection. Last year we had selected at least three-fifths of the films before the Cannes Film Festival started, this year I therefore decided to move forward more slowly, to ensure that the program could be decided little by little, in order to allow the fantastic team that I am lucky enough to coordinate to have enough time to make their choices. From May onwards my choice proved to be the good one and I gradually and increasingly convinced myself of the quality of the films selected and of the decisions made.

Everybody wants to be there
From our first contacts with American directors, cast and producers we soon had the feeling of being talking to people who couldn’t wait to return to Venice, who were very happy to hear from us again and to be able to see us again in person. Everyone made sure to be able to come at the Lido even if only for 24 or 36 hours. In the past there had always been some defections, as it is normal; September is always a month when movie productions are in full swing. But this year they seem to want to somehow recover the backlog accumulated in 2023 with the screenwriters’ strike, supported by authors and actors.

This year they seem to want to somehow recover the backlog accumulated in 2023 with the screenwriters’ strike, supported by authors and actors

The Golden Lions Sigourney Weaver and Peter Weir
Peter Weir had been one of our favourite directors for several years, we had been willing to reward him for a long time. He was the director of some absolute masterpieces of recent cinematography such as The Fleeting Moment and The Truman Show, an author who is able to reconcile an extremely personal and original vision with the need to speak to a very wide audience. Isn’t this the main challenge that cinema of all times should face? If nowadays you decide to do this job, when you are searching for resources you must necessarily ask yourself which audience you want to address and which language to adopt. I believe that Peter Weir has perfectly managed to reconcile these two opposites, to give balance and stability to these tensions which often risk to overwhelm directors if they are not lucid enough. I wanted to reward his extraordinary ability to bring together the artistic and industrial soul of today’s and recent past cinema. I believe that Sigourney Weaver represents the female side of this attitude. In her career she has alternated great films for the public with auteur films addressing a smaller audience but absolutely meaningful. According to me she is a deserving figure to be awarded with our prestigious Lion, the protagonist of a career that in the mechanism of industrial cinema had at heart the preservation of the most original and subjective authorship.

Geographies
In past years we have often been reproached for presenting a strongly European and North American-tinted Festival because of a low presence of Southeast Asia, Africa or Latin America. These objective data far from being the result of our lack of attention towards film productions in these areas are mainly the result of a lack of ‘raw material’, i.e. the very few movies coming from those areas in the selection stage. Today movies from Southeast Asia are almost inexistent; I think because they have been hit very hard by the pandemic, remaining isolated much more than we have been in the West, and because of the major role played by censorship in particular in China. A multi-level censorship, indirect and direct: indirect because the Chinese government only finances films that promote content following the policies and ‘indications’ of the Ministry of Culture; direct because a director cannot say anything that has not first been screened and approved by the bureaucratic apparatus of reference. China produces a lot of movies, but most of them are targeted to a domestic market, they are propaganda or commercial films Western festivals are not interested in. South Korea produces only modest quality commercial cinema. It focuses essentially on series, while movies for the cinema are of rather poor quality. There are interesting authors such as Bong Joon-ho or Lee Chang-dong, who make films only every 3-4 years but they are rather isolated cases. The same goes for Japan, with Hirokazu Koreeda and Kiyoshi Kurosawa standing out in a panorama devoted to commercial products for platforms. A company managed by several filmmakers has recently been created in Japan with the aim of creating auteur products aimed at the international circuits. We really hope to see soon the fruits of this investment. As far as the African continent is concerned even if there is a certain activity in the cinema field, it is still at the beginning of a process of building its own cinema industry. Many of the movies produced in Africa are often funded by France because of their well-known former colonial roots, opening their way to Cannes festival. We have to wait for this system, this film industry to be structured over time, but I am convinced that the African context will become one of the most solid references in the near future. South America, on the other hand, is facing major problems completely different from the African ones. Brazil has recently emerged from Bolsonaro dictatorship which has isolated in a short time many intellectuals and art in general, while Argentina has now a populist government that is quite worrying from all points of view that is killing the country’s cinema by completely cutting off all the contributions that traditionally supported it. This year however, we have some South American movies, see I’m Still Here by Walter Salles in Competition, which I consider his most beautiful film, or El Jockey by Argentinian director Luis Ortega also in Competition.

Documentaries: A strong presence in the lineup
Documentaries are a product that finds a large audience in the various platforms that can be used from any existing device, this explains why there are so many of them. Obviously, the large quantity of productions is often the enemy of quality, because it inevitably increases the number of products of low level. I believe that the most interesting documentaries are those capable of dealing with the most urgent issues of everyday life: unfortunately, it is impossible not to deal with war. Among the documentaries we have selected this year, there are the very strong and engaging documentaries on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict signed by the Ukrainian Olha Zhurba with Songs of Slow Burning Earth and by the Russian Anastasia Trofimova with Russians at War, both Out of Competition. Anastasia Trofimova managed to be accepted by a Russian medical team working on the front hiding while filming and being protected by these persons who suddenly became her life companions, producing a very difficult work whose result is shocking. Olha Zhurba did not film the front, but a country that lives under the constant threat of Russian bombing, invaded by a foreign power that has devastated and distorted its topographical, social and civil features. She does so without any comment, without voice-over, making the viewer see the naked and raw reality and feel all the suffering and pain of an exhausting, unbearable situation. Moving on to the second war front on which the attention of the whole world is focused, namely the Israeli-Palestinian one, Amos Gitai presents Out of Competition Why War, focused on an exchange of letters which took place in the 30s between Einstein and Freud where they question each other why man in the course of his history has always chosen war as a solution to the contrasts and conflicts afflicting the world, triggering inevitably other conflicts in an inexorable and inexhaustible loop. Having the opportunity of getting straight to the heart of questions that we all ask ourselves at a very high level of interlocution is simply fantastic. Questions that unfortunately remain too often unanswered. In the section Orizzonti we will see Of Dogs and Men by Dani Rosenberg, the protagonist is a young girl desperately looking for her mother and dog, who disappeared after Hamas attacked several kibbutz on October 7, 2023. It is precisely the passage through these farming communities, which remained deserted after the attacks, that serves as food for thought on how the actions of Hamas and the Israeli army are actually two sides of the same coin made up of unbearable suffering and violence. The images make us understand how much the common denominator of violence places everyone on the same level. Another documentary which is certainly noteworthy is Errol Morris’ Separated which tells the terrifying purpose of the Trump administration to separate parents and children of immigrant families along the border between Mexico and the United States. Fortunately, this purpose was not fully fulfilled thanks to the work of some conscious officials who decided to rebel against it, but in many cases it still led to the separation of thousands of families who have still not been able to reunite, as Morris tells by interviewing some officials of the immigration control offices. A violence that I would define as Nazi, a totally wicked policy that could have had even more catastrophic consequences if it had not been for some individuals who were capable of disobeying such criminal government provisions.

The juries
The jury of the Competition necessarily needs strong, credible and reliable personalities, immediately recognizable not only from a media point of view, but also and above all from a thematic and expressive one. In this edition we have mainly involved directors, coordinated by an iconic personality like Isabelle Huppert, that we have been very happy to host at the Lido in recent years. What about her? A very strong, open-minded personality. Her attentive gaze has led her to work with the same interpretative force both when directed by the great names of international cinema, and by the debuting director of the moment. I know the other members of the Competition jury personally and I can therefore guess how great their contribution will be as far as the judging is concerned, personalities who don’t only attend their own cinema or that of their country, but who have an open gaze on all genres and all geographies. For Orizzonti and Opera Prima the same is true and perhaps even more so, given that we are dealing in most cases with young directors, new talents, authors who are not yet established and who I believe must be observed with even greater attention to grasp their composite stylistic features. Finally, Gianni Canova, President of the Opera Prima jury, is a choice that I claim with great determination and satisfaction. A very competent, helpful and smart film critic who is able to wrong-foot with his judgments. In the context of film criticism my greatest fear is knowing what a critic will write about a movie even before reading the review.

In the context of film criticism my greatest fear is knowing what a critic will write about a movie even before reading the review

The Competition: A vital dialogue between generations and genres
After hearing and reading so much about how this year’s Competition is the best ever, I might start believing it myself! As you mentioned earlier, a great festival is built from the elements that are available ‘here and now’, from what emerges and is selected. Choices are the base of everything. If someone were to look back a few months ago and examine the films that could have been in Venice but weren’t selected, they would realize just how complex and thoughtful our selection process is. These choices are the core of our work, the backbone of our design, and our hallmark. The choices are obviously not made only by taking into account famous names like Almodóvar, Todd Phillips, or Walter Salles, but by carefully watching the film and evaluating its potential, regardless of the subject matter. The topic is never an a priori conditioning factor; rather, it serves as a starting point. Take Todd Phillips’ highly anticipated film, for example: if he had made a sequel to Joker that did not live up to the first chapter, I would have been the first to suggest he go straight to movie theatres to engage with the public without passing through us. Well, now you can fully understand why I insisted on including Joker: Folie à deux in our selection. In short, the movies you will find in Competition are simply the 21 best films that could be nominated, we are more than confident of that. This Competition is also full of surprises, featuring directors who may be little known or completely unknown to the general public. These bets are an essential element to any self-respecting Festival, challenges we are happy to take on, and that we have often won. It is important to see Siew Hua Yeo alongside Guadagnino, Dea Kulumbegashvili in the same section as Almodóvar, or a work like Vermiglio by Maura Delpero. This is the beauty of cinema. Among the works by great masters, Lelouch’s Finalement could very well have been included in the Competition section. I believe it’s a very beautiful film that represents the apex of this extraordinary French author’s cinema. However, the decision to award it the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker allowed us to place it rightly in the Out of Competition section, which, in turn, made room for another film and director to be included among the 21 titles in Competition. I also strongly recommend Leurs enfants après eux by the Boukherma brothers, Zoran and Ludovic. The same can be said for the Coulin sisters, Delphine and Muriel, with their Jouer avec le feu, featuring Vincent Lindon. The ‘gap’ between masters and new generations is perceptible, as it should be, but this distance only involves us emotionally and aesthetically due to the vital diversity of perspectives and cinematic expression in these works.

Not only Guadagnino… Italy in Competition
We selected these ones because they could not have been more different from each other. Gianni Amelio’s Campo di Battaglia offers us a classic auteur cinema experience being more sober than usual. Maura Delpero’s Vermiglio is an unexpected work that draws inspiration from Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs with a story set in 1946 in a mountain village on the Austrian border that gives the film its name. Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s Iddu takes a fresh approach to portraying mafia, forgetting all the traditional Italian cinema’s portrayal on this subject, offering a work that is decidedly different. I personally fell in love with Diva Futura. Giulia Louise Steigerwalt is very good at portraying an emblematic figure such as Riccardo Schicchi, played by Pietro Castellitto, who reaffirms his status as one of the best actors of his generation and beyond. Set during the rise and spread of porn in Italy, it is rare to see such a subject tackled from a female point of view, completely free from prejudices. Tesa Litvan is really amazing in playing the role of Eva Henger.

Orizzonti and Orizzonti Extra: The crossover scene
Convincing directors to accept a spot in the Orizzonti section, especially Orizzonti Extra, is not always easy. Among those who have not attended the Festival in recent years, there is still a strong perception that these sections are somehow “second class”. I must say however that despite these challenges, our work has become easier in recent years. Orizzonti is now a section known and valued by the public and insiders because it has been able to earn its own credibility made up of intriguing discoveries and great confirmations. This year, for example, we are featuring Quiet Life by Alexandros Avranas, a director who in 2013 competed at Venice Film Festival with Miss Violence, which was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor (Themis Panou). Avranas immediately accepted our invitation to be in this section, because he recognized that our proposal was neither disqualifying nor diminishing but quite the opposite. Another standout is One of Those Days When Hemme Dies by Murat Fıratog˘lu, a film that was a real surprise, a title that arrived at the last moment and that we liked immediately. A first-time director who has also written the music and the screenplay, who acts, edits, and produces while shooting, as if he had never done anything else all his life. It is just filmmakers like him who make us believe that cinema can still have a future. However, I must highlight a couple of recommendations for Orizzonti Extra. Paola Randi has already made several films, but I believe The Story of Frank and Nina is her best work. It is impossible not to mention at least September 5 by Tim Fehlbaum, the director delves into ethical, moral, and deontological dilemmas faced by journalists in particular today.

Orizzonti is now a section known and valued by the public and insiders because it has been able to earn its own credibility made up of intriguing discoveries and great confirmations

Italian horizons
It seemed right to me to open Orizzonti with Valerio Mastandrea’s second film, Nonostante. Francesco Costabile, who previously presented Una femmina in Berlin in 2022, brings Familia to Venice. This film clearly demonstrates his growth as a director. Giovanni Tortorici’s Diciannove stands in stark contrast to contemporary Italian cinema. It is a rigorous and highly personal work, largely autobiographical, in which all his “being extraneous” to the most typical features of his generation comes out. Despite some elements that could be refined, this debut film showcases a strong and distinctive film director personality.

Venice Classics: Rediscovery, expectation, passion
This section is a festival within the Festival, which enjoys, and this is the most intriguing and encouraging aspect to underline, a growing participation from younger audiences. Among the restored masterpieces this year, one in particular stands out: From Darkness to Light by Michael Lurie and Eric Friedler. This documentary, which explores Jerry Lewis’ unfinished and unreleased film The Day the Clown Cried (1972), is one of the most anticipated and surprising entries in this section. The extraordinary aspect of this documentary is that it presents for the very first time previously unseen clips from the film, brief but significant footage that had been thought to be lost forever, thanks to reels miraculously found in some archives.

Featured image: Alberto Barbera © La Biennale di Venezia – Foto ASAC