Talents Alumni Take Venice
Next week, the crème de la crème of the film industry will once again descend on the cobbled streets and canals of Italy's floating city with much fanfare. Presenting an incredible line-up, the 81st Venice Film Festival is set to be a return to form after last year's post-strike edition. And it isn't just the Hollywood set who will be back, the Talents alumni will also be out in force, with an incredible 50 of them presenting work across 36 films in official selection. From Competition to Orrizonti and Immersive, we're ecstatic to see so many familiar faces in the programme. Congratulations and best of luck to all!
Competition
"The Room Next Door" – cinematography Eduard Grau (BT 2005) - WINNER GOLDEN LION
"Vermiglio" – writer/director/producer Maura Delpero (BT 2015), producer Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli (BT 2015) - WINNER GRAND JURY PRIZE
"Iddu" (Sicilian Letters) – co-writer & -director Antonio Piazza (BT 2008)
"Queer" – actor David Lowery (BT 2005)
"April" – writer/director Dea Kulumbegashvili (BT 2015) - WINNER SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
"El Jockey" (Kill the Jockey) – producer Benjamín Doménech (BT 2010), co-producer Katrin Pors (BT 2008)
"Diva Futura" – producer Matteo Rovere (BT 2006)
"Stranger Eyes" – producer Fran Borgia (BT 2014)
Out of Competition
Nonfiction
"TWST - Things We Said Today" – executive producer Anda Ionescu (BT 2021)
"Riefenstahl" – music Freya Arde (BT 2018)
"Pisni zemli, shcho povilno horyt’" (Songs of slow burning earth) – cinematography Misha Lubarsky (BT 2012)
Series
"Familier som vores" (Families like ours) – supervising art director Stella Sonková (BT 2024)
"Los años nuevos" – director (epsiodes) Sandra Romero (BT 2022)
Orrizonti
Competition
"Quiet Life" – writer Stavros Pamballis (BT 2010/22), producer Elīna Ļitvinova (BT 2011)
"Aïcha" – producer Mohamed Habib Attia (BT 2011)
"Happy Holidays" – producer Dorothe Beinemeier (BT 2006) - BEST SCREENPLAY
"Hemme’nin öldüğü günlerden biri" (One of those days when Hemme dies) – producer Nefes Polat (BT 2017) - SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
"Familiar Touch" – writer/director/producer Sarah Friedland (BT 2017), producer Alexandra Byer (BT 2015) - BEST DIRECTOR; BEST ACTRESS Kathleen Chalfant; LION OF THE FUTURE Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut
"Wishing On a Star" – co-producer Vanja Jambrovic (BT 2013)
"Anul nou care n-a fost" (The new year that never came) – cinematography Boróka Biró (BT 2021), editor Vanja Kovacevic (BT 2005) - BEST FILM
"Pooja, Sir" – writer/director/producer Deepak Rauniyar (BT 2012/20), writer/actor/producer Asha Magrati (BT 2017), actor Gaumaya Gurung (BT 2024), sound editor Uttam Neupane (BT 2024), production design Aki Thekpa (BT 2021)
"Al klavim veanashim" (Of Dogs and Men) – writer/director Dani Rosenberg (BT 2006), cinematography Itay Marom (BT 2007)
"Happyend" – producer Anthony Chen (BT 2012)
"Diciannove" – producer Aaron Brookner (BT 2013)
Shorts
"Neredeyse kesinlikle yanlış" (Almost certainly false) – associate producer Nazli Bulum (BT 2017)
"Shadows" – director Rand Beiruty (BT 2017)
"Minha mãe é uma vaca" (My mother is a cow) – producer Sofia Geld (BT 2023), co-editor Germano de Oliveira (BT 2016)
"O" – co-producer Siri Hjorton Wagner (BT 2018)
"Who Loves the Sun" – producer Zayne Akyol (BT 2013) - BEST SHORT FILM
Orrizonti Extra
"Vittoria" – co-director/-writer & editor Alessandro Cassigoli (BT 2005), producer Lorenzo Cioffi (BT 2017), producer/music Giorgio Giampà (BT 2011)
"September 5" – music Lorenz Dangel (BT 2006)
"La storia del Frank e della Nina" – director Paola Randi (BT 2004)
"Gecenin Kiyisi" (Edge of Night) – director Türker Süer (BT 2006), development producer Cécile Tollu-Polonowski (BT 2016)
"After Party" – producer Marek Novák (BT 2020)
Venice Immersive
Competition
"Une Eau La Nuit" (Bodies Of Water) – producer Jeanne-Marie Poulain (BT 2020)
Biennale College Cinema Immersive – Out of competition
"Garden Alchemy" – co-director Uri Kranot (BT 2016)
"Duchampiana" – writer/director Lilian Hess (BT 2022) SHORT FORM STATION 2022
Biennale College Cinema
"Medovyi misiats" (Honeymoon) – writer/director/editor Zhanna Ozirna (BT 2020)