Venice’s Horizons and Horizons Extra strands include titles from Juan Diego Botto, Soudade Kaadan, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel. The festival runs August 31 to September 10.
Horizons
Autobiography (Indo-Fr-Sing-Pol-Phil-Ger-Qat)
Dir. Makbul Mubarak
The feature debut of Indonesian film critic-turned-director Mubarak is about a young man who keeps house for a retired general, finding himself torn between loyalty and justice as the mayoral election approaches. The multi-country co-production is led by Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara, who produced The Science Of Fictions (Locarno 2019) and short On The Origin Of Fear (Venice Horizons 2016).
Contact: Alpha Violet
Blanquita (Chile-Mex-Lux-Fr-Pol)
Dir. Fernando Guzzoni
The director of 2016 Toronto Discovery drama Jesus returns with a story of sexual abuse and homeless teenagers. Based on the child prostitution and paedophilia investigation involving Chilean businessman Claudio Spiniak in the early 2000s, this Quijote Films production centres on an 18-year-old woman caught up in a sex scandal. Blanquita went through the 2017 Berlinale Co-Production Market and Venice’s 2018 Gap Financing Market and is backed by Hubert Bals and the Chilean National Production Fund.
Contact: Jan Naszewski, New Europe Film Sales
Bread And Salt (Pol)
Dir. Damian Kocur
When a talented pianist returns to his small hometown from Warsaw, he sees conflict between local Arab workers and his neighbourhood friends, which leads to tragedy. Followers of the European shorts scene will have high hopes for Polish director Kocur’s debut. Having trained at Krzysztof Kieslowski Film School, he has made eight shorts including 2020’s Beyond Is The Day, which won prizes at Trieste, Krakow and Clermont-Ferrand. He has two non-professional actors in lead roles here, both of whom are pianists.
Contact: IKH Pictures Promotion
The Bride (Port)
Dir. Sergio Trefaut
Portugal’s Trefaut shot this real-life-inspired story — about a European teenager (played by newcomer Joana Bernardo) who runs away from home to marry an Islamic State fighter — in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The director started his career as a journalist before moving into filmmaking, and co-founded Doclisboa International Film Festival, which he directed between 2004 and 2010. Recent projects include documentary Treblinka (2016) and fiction feature Rage (2018). Trefaut’s Lisbon-based Faux produces.
Contact: Sébastien Fouque, Alfama Films
Burning Hearts (It)
Dir. Pippo Mezzapesa
Loosely based on a non-fiction book by two Italian investigative journalists, Burning Hearts (Ti Mangio Il Cuore) shines a light on one of Italy’s lesser-known but most vicious mafias, Societa Foggiana of northern Puglia. The black-and-white film marks the acting debut of pop singer and model Elodie, as a mob wife who enters into an illicit relationship with the heir to a rival clan. Produced by Indigo Film and Rai Cinema, this third fiction feature from Mezzapesa will be released in Italy by 01 Distribution on September 22 prior to its January 2023 streaming debut on Paramount+.
Contact: True Colours
For My Country (Fr-Tai)
Dir. Rachid Hami
The second feature from Hami (Orchestra Class, which played out of competition at Venice 2017) is inspired by a personal tragedy, and revolves round the death of a young officer of Algerian origin at the Saint-Cyr military academy. For My Country (Pour La France) features two established names who made a strong impression in Cannes this year: Karim Leklou (Sons Of Ramses) and Lubna Azabal (The Blue Caftan), alongside Laurent Lafitte. Nicolas Mauvernay produces for Mizar Films alongside France 2 Cinéma and Taiwan’s Ma Studio.
Contact: mk2 Films
The Happiest Man In The World (N Mac-Belg-Slovenia-Den-Cro-Bos & Her)
Dir. Teona Strugar Mitevska
Macedonian director Mitevska broke out internationally with fourth feature God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya, winning the European Film Academy LUX prize. Her new film explores the legacy of the siege of Sarajevo, through a 40-year-old single woman attending a dating event and meeting a man in search of forgiveness. Mitevska reunites with her regular team: co-writer Elma Tataragic; producer (and Mitevska’s sister) Labina Mitevska, who also appears in the cast; and Belgian banner Entre Chien et Loup.
Contact: Pyramide International
Innocence (Den-Isr-Fin-Ice)
Dir. Guy Davidi
Israeli documentarian Davidi, who was Oscar-nominated in 2013 for 5 Broken Cameras, builds his new documentary from diaries of young people who died during military service. Davidi spent more than seven years crafting the film, using narration from the diaries combined with military images, key moments from childhood and home videos of the deceased soldiers. Sigrid Dyekjær (The Territory) and Hilla Medalia (After The Storm) produce Innocence, which is the only documentary selected for Horizons.
Contact: Autlook Filmsales
Luxembourg, Luxembourg (Ukr)
Dir. Antonio Lukich
This second feature from the Ukrainian filmmaker follows twin brothers (played by Ramil and Amil Nasirov from rap group Kurgan & Agregat) who hear their long-absent father is sick in Luxembourg and set out on a journey to see him one last time. Lukich, whose debut feature My Thoughts Are Silent won a special jury prize at Karlovy Vary in 2019, describes his latest project as “my declaration of love to my father, who was running away all the time”. The film was produced by Ukraine’s ForeFilms with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
Contact: Celluloid Dreams
A Man (Jap)
Dir. Kei Ishikawa
Following his 2016 feature debut Traces Of Sin, Japan’s Ishikawa returns to Horizons with his fourth feature — an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Keiichiro Hirano, starring Traces Of Sin’s Satoshi Tsumabuki. The family drama/mystery is about a widow who hires an attorney to investigate her late husband, who may not be all that he claimed. Sakura Ando (Shoplifters) and Masataka Kubota (Tokyo Ghoul) co-star. A release in Japan is scheduled for November through Shochiku.
Contact: The Match Factory
On The Fringe (Sp-Belg)
Dir. Juan Diego Botto
Actor Botto (The Suicide Squad, TV’s White Lines) makes his feature directing debut with a thriller following multiple stories over a 24-hour period, which he scripted with Olga Rodriguez. The ensemble cast includes Penelope Cruz and Luis Tosar, with Cruz producing alongside Morena Films’ Alvaro Longoria. Co-producers are Prime Video and RTVE with the support of Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Funding partners include Eurimages and Bankside Films.
Contact: Yana Georgieva, Bankside Films
Princess (It)
Dir. Roberto De Paolis
De Paolis’ 2017 feature debut Pure Hearts premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes; now his follow-up opens Horizons. Non-professional actress Glory Kevin plays a Nigerian prostitute working on the outskirts of a big city who is given a chance to turn her life around. Produced by De Paolis’ own Young Films with Italy’s Indigo Film, Princess will be released at home by Lucky Red.
Contact: True Colours
The Sitting Duck (Fr-Ger)
Dir. Jean-Paul Salomé
Director Salomé follows his 2020 Isabelle Huppert vehicle Mama Weed by reuniting with the star, this time in a darker offering, a true-life drama based on journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s 2019 book La Syndicaliste. Huppert plays a whistleblower in the nuclear industry who finds herself the victim of a warning attack. The cast includes Yvan Attal, Marina Foïs and Alexandra Maria Lara, with Bertrand Faivre producing for Le Bureau, alongside France 2 Cinéma and Germany’s Heimatfilm.
Contact: The Bureau Sales
To The North (Rom-Fr-Gre-Bul-Cz)
Dir. Mihai Mincan
Romanian director Mincan’s debut fiction feature has done the development rounds, workshopped through EAVE, Transilvania Pitch Stop, Sofia Meetings, APostLab and New Horizons Studio+. Filmed in Romania and Greece, it is a psychological thriller about a Romanian stowaway on a transatlantic ship who is discovered by a religious Filipino sailor. The Filipino cast have all previously worked with Lav Diaz, including lead Soliman Cruz. The feature is one of Romania’s biggest to date, with backing from film institutes in Greece, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
Contact: Best Friend Forever
Trenque Lauquen (Arg-Ger)
Dir. Laura Citarella
Citarella’s four-hour opus (split into two-hour segments) is named after a city to the west of Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. It follows Laura, who lives in the region for six months and emerges a changed woman. Laura Paredes stars alongside Ezequiel Pierri, Rafael Spregelburd and Elisa Carricajo. The project received support from the Hubert Bals Fund and the World Cinema Fund. Argentina’s El Pampero is the lead producer alongside Germany’s Grandfilm. Citarella’s Dog Lady premiered at Rotterdam 2015.
Contact: El Pampero Cine
Vera (Austria)
Dirs. Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
Frequent collaborators and real-life couple Covi and Frimmel are regulars on the European festival circuit, but this is their first appearance at Venice; their last film, documentary Notes From The Underworld, picked up a special mention at the 2020 Berlinale. The meta-sounding Vera pays homage to Italian actress Vera Gemma (daughter of film star Giuliano Gemma), who appears in the film alongside Walter Saabel. Shot in Rome, it is produced by Covi and Frimmel’s Vienna-based Vento Film.
Contact: Be For Films
Victim (Slovakia-Cz-Ger)
Dir. Michal Blasko
Slovak director Blasko makes his feature debut following award-winning shorts and TV projects, including Berlinale Series 2022 selection Suspicion. Victim follows a Ukrainian woman (Vita Smachelyuk) in a small Czech town seeking justice after her son claims he was attacked by their Roma neighbours — but something about his story does not add up. The project was pitched at Cannes’ L’Atelier co-production meeting in 2019 and won the TRT work-in-progress award at Karlovy Vary 2021. Producing are Czech Republic’s Nutprodukce and Bratislava-based sister company Nutprodukcia, with co-production partners Electric Sheep, Czech Television and RTVS.
Contact: Pluto Film
World War III (Iran)
Dir. Houman Seyedi
One of four Iranian films in official selection, World War III follows an ordinary labourer — played by Mohsen Tanabandeh (A Hero) — who finds himself working on the set of a film that purports to be a condemnation of dictatorships, but the filmmakers themselves turn into tyrants. Seyedi is a well-known filmmaker and actor in Iran, and World War III is his sixth feature. He produces, edits and co-writes with Arian Vazirdaftari (whose own film Without Her plays Horizons Extra) and Azad Jafarian.
Contact: Iranian Independents
Horizons Extra
Amanda (It)
Dir. Carolina Cavalli
After a well-received short, and a stint on the writing team behind Netflix series Zero, rising Italian talent Cavalli makes her feature debut with this drama about a 24-year-old woman with no friends who sets out to reconnect with someone she hung out with when they were children. Shot in and around Turin, Amanda is the first result of a deal between buzzy Italian distributor I Wonder and sales company Charades to jointly seek out projects by young, emerging Italian directors. Wildside, Elsinore Film and Tenderstories are the other Italian co-producers.
Contact: Charades
Ghost Night (It)
Dir. Fulvio Risuleo
After two well-received shorts that screened in Cannes and two quirky features that played in Rotterdam sidebars, Italian director Risuleo finally comes home to Venice with this all-in-one-night drama about a teenager who is forced to spend the night on patrol with the cop who caught him buying weed. Vision Distribution is handling world sales as well as the Italian release.
Contact: Catia Rossi, Vision Distribution
Goliath (Kaz-Rus)
Dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov
The prolific Kazakh writer/director returns to the Lido with Goliath, centred on a village run by a ruthless crime boss. Yerzhanov previously launched the acclaimed Yellow Cat in Venice’s Horizons in 2020, and earlier this year his comedy thriller Assault premiered at Rotterdam. Regular producing partners Olga Khlasheva and Serik Abishev are the lead producers — this is their 11th film with Yerzhanov, including Cannes entries The Gentle Indifference Of The World (2018) and The Owners (2014).
Contact: Olga Khlasheva, Short Brothers
Hanging Gardens (Iraq-Pal-Saudi-Egy-UK)
Dir. Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
Iraqi-UK writer/director Yassin Al Daradji is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents 2018 and London Film School. His debut feature Hanging Gardens won the prize for best film in post-production at Venice’s Final Cut initiative last year, with the jury citing its “truly strong and captivating characters”. Set in Baghdad, it charts the ramifications of a 12-year-old rubbish picker’s discovery of a cast-off American sex doll. The film is produced by Huda Al Kadhimi, Margaret Glover and Odeh Films’ May Odeh.
Contact: True Colours
Nezouh (Fr-UK-Syria)
Dir. Soudade Kaadan
Kaadan made history in 2018 when her film The Day I Lost My Shadow was the first Syrian title to screen in Horizons at Venice and went on to win best debut. She returns with her second feature, about a man who refuses to flee his home as it becomes a war zone. Nezouh, which stars Hala Zein, Kinda Alloush, Samer Al Masri and Nizar Alani, won the Sorfond prize in Cannes’ L’Atelier 2019 as well as the Arte Kino Prize. It was co-financed by the BFI, Film4 and Stars Collective, and is produced by Berkeley Media Group and KAF Production, in association with Ex Nihilo.
Contact: mk2 Films
The Origin Of Evil (Fr-Can)
Dir. Sébastien Marnier
Marnier made a mark with 2018’s unsettling classroom mystery School’s Out. His follow-up is a thriller starring Laure Calamy as a woman who sets out to make contact with a wealthy, highly dysfunctional family. Co-stars include Dominique Blanc, Suzanne Clément and Doria Tillier, while Calamy continues a line of lead roles (Her Way, 2021 Horizons title Full Time) that show her range beyond TV’s Call My Agent!. Caroline Bonmarchand produces for Avenue B, alongside Canada’s micro_scope.
Contact: Charades
Red Shoes (Mex-It)
Dir. Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser
Mexico’s BHD Film and Italy’s 102 Distribution produce first-time director Kaiser’s film about a farmer who receives shocking news about his estranged daughter and sets off for the capital in search of truth and redemption. The title refers to a national movement started by Mexican artist Elina Chauvet in 2009 in response to a wave of femicides. The project launched at Ventana Sur last year and took part in Morelia International Film Festival’s Impulso Morelia 7, showcasing Mexican films at different stages of post-production.
Contact: Tommaso Cerqueglini, 102 Distribution
Valeria is Getting Married (Isr-Ukr)
Dir. Michal Vinik
Tel Aviv-based Vinik’s second feature, about an arranged marriage between an Israeli man and a young Ukrainian woman, was shot before the war and highlights issues such as gender and economic inequality. Her first feature Blush (Barash) premiered at San Sebastian in 2015, and both films were produced by Israel’s Lama Films. Germany’s M-Appeal handles sales on Valeria, as it did Blush; Ukraine’s ForeFilms co-produces. Vinik teaches scriptwriting at Tel Aviv University and has written for several TV series.
Contact:M-Appeal
Without Her (Iran)
Dir. Arian Vazirdaftari
A genre film in the tradition of Hitchcock but set in Iran’s own cinematic institution of social realism, Vazirdaftari’s debut feature is the tale of Roya, who brings back a lost young woman to her family — unaware the girl has come to replace her. Vazirdaftari’s short Like A Good Kid premiered in Cannes’ Cinéfondation in 2018, and he was a participant of the Berlinale Script Station in 2021. Without Her was produced by Saeed Saadi and Houman Seyedi (whose own film World War III plays this year in Horizons) for Fadak Films.
Contact: Picture Tree International
Profiles by: Ellie Calnan, Ben Dalton, Tim Dams, Charles Gant, Jeremy Kay, Geoffrey Macnab, Lee Marshall, Wendy Mitchell, Orlando Parfitt, Jonathan Romney, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong
No comments yet