With a bit of rebranding (now sounds like a tennis ATP tour event) the Venice Open section which houses the non comp non-fiction films, also has a firm eleven fiction films with a lot of big name auteurs in not necessarily lesser films but items that are a better fit without a run at the Golden Lion. This year we find the likes of Gianni Amelio (No Pain), Mario Martone (Trick), Kornél Mundruczó (Place to Be), Sabu (Arrested Memory) and Paul Schrader (The Basics of Philosophy). In the Venice Spotlight section (berthed from the Orrizonti section) we find items that need to be profiled but perhaps aren’t a fit elsewhere. Names such as Gael García Bernal (Hombre Al Agua), Rami Kodeih (Furies), Levan Koguashvili and Gábor Reisz formerly titled Ember végez (Ground Floor) are getting their Lido premieres in this manner. And in the smaller film section that easily gets buried with everything that is being played, Biennale College Cinema gives the chance to some new voices to receive the spotlight. Here are the selections:
VENICE OPEN (OUT OF COMPETITION — FICTION)
Dio Ride – Giovanni Veronesi (closing film)
No Pain – Gianni Amelio
Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors – Lav Diaz
Father Joe – Barthélémy Grossmann
Trick – Mario Martone
Place to Be – Kornél Mundruczó
No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman – Halkawat Mustafa
Arrested Memory – Sabu
The Basics of Philosophy – Paul Schrader
Un Bon Avocat – Tristan Séguéla
Jupiter – Alexander Smia
VENICE SPOTLIGHT
Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing – Erik Shirai
Conversation With the Sea – Muayad Alayan
Hombre Al Agua – Gael García Bernal
Serpenti – Roberto De Paolis Maino
Furies – Rami Kodeih
Guria – Levan Koguashvili
Ground Floor – Gábor Reisz
I Matter – Alina Șerban
Biennale College Cinema
Demetra in esilio – Maria Giovanna Cicciari (Italy)
Tijuana, todavía – Gabriel Gutierrez Morales (Mexico)
Gu Shi – Amie Song (USA /Hong Kong/Thailand)
Moonfish – Daniel Zvereff (USA)