Steve McQueen

Source: Wiki Commons

Steve McQueen

UK director Steve McQueen’s upcoming documentary The Occupied City is among 56 projects selected for the Venice Production Bridge, the gap financing event of the Venice Film Festival, which is due to take place from September 2-12.

The three-day industry event, running September 4-6, will unveil 28 feature-length fiction and documentary projects and 12 immersive story projects.

It will also present 13 VR projects and three cinema projects developed under the auspices of the Biennale College Cinema programme aimed at supporting emerging talents.

More than 270 project were submitted in total.

The event, involving pitches and one-on-one meetings, will be one of the first project co-financing meetings to take place physically since the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of film and TV events around the world from early March. 

McQueen’s previously announced documentary The Occupied City is based illustrated history book Atlas Of An Occupied City. Amsterdam 1940-1945 by his Dutch filmmaker and writer wife Bianca Stigter.

It is one of six feature-length documentary projects participating in the Venice Production Bridge.

To qualify for selection, fiction feature projects have to have at least 70% of financing in place.

The 22 fiction feature projects include German-French-Iranian director Emily Atef’s upcoming feature Mister; South African, Germany-based filmmaker Pia Marais’s Transamazonia, and Romanian director and producer Andrei Cretulescu’s Jeux Sans Frontières.

Feature-length projects

Fiction

  • A Girl’s Room (France, Finland, Germany) by Aino Suni, Adastra Films
  • A Beautiful Imperfection (The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, UK) by Michiel van Erp and Erwin Olaf, Kaap Holland Film
  • A Picture Book (Japan, Germany) by Tomoko Kana, Horizon Features Co., Ltd.
  • Bouazizi (France, Germany) by Lofty Nathan, Cinenovo
  • Brother (Canada) by Clement Virgo, Conquering Lion Pictures
  • Captain Volkonogov Escaped (Russia) by Natasha Merkulova, Lookfilm Studio
  • Convenience Store (Russia) by Michael Borodin, Metrafilms Llc
  • The Faun (Romania, France) by Augusto Zanovello, Aparte
  • Il Legionario (Italy, France) by Hleb Papou, Clemart
  • Iris (Cyprus, Greece, France, Germany) by Myrsini Aristidou, The Living
  • Jeux Sans Frontieres (Romania) by Andrei Cretulescu, Digital Cube
  • La Guardia (Italy, Germany) by Giulio Ricciarelli, La Sarraz Pictures
  • L’età Dell’Innocenza (Italy, Switzerland) by Enrico Maisto, Start, Ventura Film
  • Medusa (Brazil) by Anita Rocha da Silveira, Bananeira Filmes
  • Meursault Contre enquete (Algeria, France) by Malek Bensmaïl, Hikayet Films
  • Mister (France) by Emily Atef, Eaux Vives Productions
  • Piccolo Corpo (Italy) by Laura Samani, Nefertiti Film
  • Runner (US, Germany, France) by Marian Mathias, Killjoy Films
  • Summerlight And Then Comes The Night (Iceland) by Elfar Adalsteins, Berserk Films, Compass Films
  • Supernova (Mexico, Argentina) by Natalia López, Amondo Cine, Lobo en medio de Lobos
  • Sweet Dreams (The Netherlands, Belgium) by Ena Sendijarevic, Lemming Film
  • The Things You Kill (France , Canada, Iran) by Alireza Khatami, Fulgurance
  • Transamazonia (France, Germany , Sweden) by Pia Marais, Cinéma Defacto

Documentaries 

  • Amate Sponde  (Italy) by Egidio Eronico, EiE Film
  • The Occupied City  (The Netherlands, UK) by Steve McQueen, Family Affair Films
  • Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free (The Netherlands, Spain) by Dawn Gifford EngleStichting PeaceJam Europe
  • Why We Fight (Belgium, Germany) by Alain Platel and Mirjam Devriendt, Cassette for Timescapes
  • Wir Waren Kumpel (Switzerland, Germany) by Christian Johanns Koch and Jonas MatauschekCognitoFilms Ltd.

Biennale College features