Exploring the official jury of the 8th Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award, curated by Silvia Jop, tasked with identifying the film – among the 12 selected across the different sections of the Festival – that best embodies the values of inclusivity and sustainability. After Motta and writer Eleonora Marangoni, we now meet the third juror, writer and director Valerio Mieli, featured in a Masterclass today at 6 p.m. at Isola Edipo.
As a juror of the Edipo Re Award, this time you move from behind the camera to the spectator’s seat. How do you approach the 12 selected films?
Being the only professional in the group, perhaps my main challenge is to reconcile an aesthetic and technical perspective with an ethical one. So far we’ve found very beautiful films that also convey strong values, perfectly in line with the theme of the award. As a film lover, watching and judging films is something I’ve always done, even before becoming a director. So I’m happy to play this official role and to explain why I believe a certain film deserves recognition. That said, I must admit I only believe in awards up to a point; there are beautiful films, and films beautiful in different ways. In an ideal world, these awards would serve as opportunities to showcase a “special” selection of works, rather than to crown a single winner. It’s not a competition, not a football match – especially when dealing with ethical themes. At first I was daunted by the idea of choosing, but right now I feel as if I won’t have to choose at all.
How do the themes of inclusion and sustainability intersect with your cinema?
I believe sooner or later I’ll also deal with broader issues that can complement the exploration of emotions I began with Ten Winters and continued with Ricordi?. Even though I’m not strictly a social or political filmmaker, in a sense I do find myself close to that territory. Still, I believe one must always have something authentic and meaningful to say regardless, without being programmatically confined to themes tied to current dramas. For now, these are questions I explore independently from cinema, but I think one day the two may converge.
So you’re still in your full romantic mood?
Absolutely! I’ve just written a novel – a long one – which I’m presenting here at Isola Edipo. It’s called Scelgo tutto (I Choose Everything) and tells the story of the two possible lives of a character who splits in two, in a kind of sliding doors scenario. It’s a broader, more choral project that I’m very happy about; I worked on it with great passion, and right now it’s the work I most want to share and make known to readers.
What will you take home from this experience as a juror?
I’ve been coming to the Venice Film Festival for over twenty years and have already served on other juries. This year, however, I expect more than ever to see films I wouldn’t otherwise have chosen to watch, perhaps because they haven’t been distributed in theaters. Films that are, so to speak, unexpected. With my seasoned festival experience, I usually make my own personal selection of titles, which often leads me to miss films that might have surprised me – though, as it happens, that’s not the case with a film currently in the running for the award…
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