The 22nd edition of Giornate degli Autori is set to become a true political and emotional atlas, connecting countries as diverse—both geographically and sentimentally—as Lebanon and Greece, Italy and Mexico, Iran and Spain, alongside a futuristic Kenya and a Russia inhabited by the memories of those who left never to return.
The ten feature films in competition, all world premieres, offer an urgent reflection on the times we live in: an era marked by wars, identity struggles, technological revolutions, and forced migrations, yet also crossed by desires, rebellions, memories, and gestures of love. Moving between documentary and fiction, these works choose cinema as a territory to confront traumas, revisit the past, and project themselves into the future.
The official selection opens with Memory by Vladlena Sandu, a film of rare beauty and striking intimacy. The Russian filmmaker reconstructs fragments of her childhood and, through the eyes of a young girl, weaves together personal and historical memories to denounce horror.
Another perspective from exile comes from Nastia Korkia, a Russian filmmaker based in Germany, who presents Short Summer, a seemingly tranquil summer story where war, always lurking, seeps into every corner of everyday life.
From Spain comes Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes by Gabriel Azorín, a piece that plays with time: two children and two soldiers meet at night in thermal baths to talk about friendship, loneliness, and fears.
The future peeks in from Africa with Memory of Princess Mumbi by Kenyan filmmaker Damien Hauser. This dystopian fable, set in 2093, blends science fiction, mockumentary, and animation to reflect on AI control and humanity’s destiny.
Iran is doubly represented: Past Future Continuous, co-directed by Firouzeh Khosrovani and Morteza Ahmadvand, depicts the life of a woman in exile who, after the Islamic Revolution, watches her parents through security cameras in Tehran. Meanwhile, Inside Amir by Amir Azizi is a love letter to Tehran, narrated through bike rides, encounters with friends, and phone calls to his girlfriend, now living in Italy.
From Mexico, actress Mayra Hermosillo makes her directorial debut with Vainilla, an intimate portrait of seven women from different generations sharing a home in northern Mexico during the 1980s. The child’s gaze of the protagonist—Hermosillo’s alter ego—captures the precariousness and tenderness coexisting under the same roof.
A Sad and Beautiful World by Lebanese filmmaker Cyril Aris spans three decades of Lebanon’s history through a couple born on the same day as a bombing. Separated and reunited by chance, their lives oscillate between hope and melancholy as the world collapses around them.
Set in the Greek countryside, Bearcave by Krysianna B. Papadakis and Stergios Dinopoulos follows two young women who grew up together as they explore their silenced love, surrounded by folklore and patriarchal traditions.
Italy joins with La Gioia by Nicolangelo Gelormini. Valeria Golino and Jasmine Trinca play two opposing women who, through a young man they have in common, seek to transcend routine. What begins as a comedy soon turns into a tragedy inspired by true events.
Additionally, the program is enriched by five special events: Laguna by Sharunas Bartas, a silent meditation on grief; Writing Life by Claire Simon, a portrait of Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux through young French readers of her texts; Who Is Still Alive by Nicolas Wadimoff, which gives voice to Palestinian refugees in Gaza; Do You Love Me by Lana Daher, an ode to a Lebanon rebuilding itself from fragments; and Il quieto vivere by Gianluca Matarrese, which depicts a family dispute as an everyday tragicomedy.
Out of competition, the edition closes with Come ti muovi, sbagli by Gianni Di Gregorio, who returns to Venice after his acclaimed Mid-August Lunch. This light comedy about a retiree whose routine is shaken up by his daughter and grandchildren promises to provide a warm closing to a program marked by intense emotions.
Giornate degli Autori Official Selection – Venice Film Festival 2025
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