Giornate degli Autori 2024: Official Program Revealed

The 21st edition of Giornate degli Autori, an independent section promoted by ANAC and 100autori, will take place from August 28 to September 7, 2024, as part of the Venice International Film Festival. This eagerly awaited event brings a new wave of creativity and innovation to the world of auteur cinema with a program that promises to surprise and engage audiences.

A Rich and Varied Program

Speaking about the program, Gaia Furrer, Artistic Director of Giornate degli Autori, previews the themes of the selection: “Our lineup is rigorous, lean, and stylistically eclectic, one that puts stories about people front and centre: their encounters, relations, breakups, and losses. It features places and environments, the majesty of which (from the Swiss Alps and the Mongolian steppes to the dunes of Colombia and tropical islands) often dominates human affairs. There are stories and reports of a world on fire, from Russia or Georgia to the Dominican Republic and Haiti and from Sudan to Ukraine and the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut. Stories of struggling with authority without neglecting the everyday foibles of individuals who continue to love, fight, fall in love, and drift apart.”

The official selection of Giornate degli Autori 2024 includes 10 films in competition, 1 closing film out of competition, 5 special events, and 3 short films, including two as part of the Women’s Tales project and one dedicated to the 2022 winner.

This year’s competition features a variety of stories that embrace different cultures and countries. From “Taxi Monamour” by Ciro De Caro, which narrates the experiences of two women determined to live their choices independently, to “Alpha.” by Jan-Willem Van Ewijk, a psychoanalytic thriller set in the Swiss Alps. “Boomerang” by Shahab Fotouhi explores emotional bonds in modern Tehran, while “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” by Jiang Xiaoxuan moves between rural Mongolia and urban capitalism.

Female Perspectives and Internationality

With sixteen female directors out of a total of twenty-five titles, Giornate degli Autori celebrates the presence of women in cinema. Stories like “Selon Joy” by Camille Lugan, starring Asia Argento and Raphaël Thiéry, and “Sugar Island” by Dominican filmmaker Johanné Gómez Terrero, tackle themes of identity and liberation. Among the fiction works, “Super Happy Forever” by Kohei Igarashi and “Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hour Glass” by the Quay Brothers offer kaleidoscopic and metaphysical visions of time and reality.

Commitment and Reflection

This year’s edition stands out for a new space dedicated to words and images, titled Confronti, presented by Giorgio Gosetti, General Delegate of  Giornate degli Autori: “The identity of Giornate is not built solely on the search and presentation of original films and artists. Within the Venice Film Festival, we are a free space of words & images where every year we seek the compass of the present, the vision of the future, the memory of common roots. This is why we have launched the Confronti space, dedicated precisely to the otherness of our proposal, inaugurated on August 28 by a powerful and unmistakable voice like that of Tahar Ben Jelloun, to remind us that without culture and respect for the dignity of others, peace cannot return to our torn world.”

Special Events and Tributes

In addition to the rich selection of films, Giornate degli Autori 2024 will offer a series of special events and tributes. Among these, a remembrance of Emidio Greco, co-founder of the section, 50 years after his debut with “L’invenzione di Morel” in 1974, and a tribute to Naples by Gaetano Di Vaio and Enzo Moscato with “Dadapolis” by Carlo Luglio and Fabio Gargano.

Special events include works like “Coppia aperta quasi spalancata”, directed by Federica Di Giacomo and starring Chiara Francini, inspired by the play of the same name by Franca Rame and Dario Fo. Additionally, the documentary “Alma del desierto” by Monica Taboada Tapia follows the journey of Georgina, an elderly transgender woman, in search of her recognized identity.

An emotional moment will be the tribute to Massimo Troisi, commemorated thirty years after the world premiere of his last masterpiece, “Il postino.” The homage, in collaboration with the Venice Film Festival and SIC, honours his artistic legacy and impact on Italian cinema.

Venetian Nights

Venetian Nights returns with nine feature films between fiction and documentary, produced in collaboration with Isola Edipo and presented in Sala Laguna. Among the films scheduled, standout titles include “Quasi a casa” by Carolina Pavone, a choral debut exploring the tensions and hopes of a young musician, and “La scommessa” by Giovanni Dota, a black comedy set in a hospital ward in Naples.

The 21st edition of Giornate degli Autori is a tribute to auteur cinema, a journey through stories and visions that aim to connect past, present, and future, offering an independent and innovative platform in the panorama of the Venice Film Festival. We eagerly await the start of the event to immerse ourselves in the stories, emotions, and visions that only the big screen can offer