Newly completed feature and medium length films, from the official line-up and the collateral sections of the festival, currently without world sales representation.
Synopsis supplied by current rights holders.
In order of Programme Section:
OUT OF COMPETITION
IL SIGNOR ROTPETER / MR. ROTPETER
37’
Director: Antonietta De Lillo
Country of Origin: Italy
Production Company: marechiarofilm (Italy)
Contact Person: Alice Mariani (marechiarofilm)
Telephone: +39 3336888726
Email / Website: a.mariani@marechiarofilm.com / www.marechiarofilm.it
Territories available: All
Synopsis: In 1917, a short story by Franz Kafka appeared in a magazine. It was called “A Report
to an Academy”, the story of Mr. Rotpeter, a monkey who transformed into a man. During his
academics report, Mr. Rotpeter talks about his metamorphosis. Through her peculiar narration,
Antonietta De Lillo imagines a “Neapolitan” Mr. Rotpeter: he walks through the streets of Naples,
in Molosiglio’s gardens, he climbs the stairs of the prestigious University of Naples Federico II, he
observes families playing on the grass on a Sunday morning in Capodimonte’s wood.
PIAZZA VITTORIO
82’
Director: Abel Ferrara
Country of Origin: Italy
Production Company: ENJOY MOVIES srl (Italy)
Contact Person: Manfredi Saavedra (Enjoy Movies)
Telephone: +39 3337126884
Email / Website: manfredi.saavedra@moliwoodfilms.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: Piazza Vittorio is the largest Roman piazza. It is distinguished by the multiethnic
variety of its inhabitants. In fact, we find a set of close and far-away ethnicities: they make the
square and the lively neighbourhood, but are at the same time difficult to manage. Because of its
unique and colourful nature, it is the residence of many artists. One of these is Master Abel
Ferrara, who has decided to illustrate this world with his independent and poetic vision.
VENICE CLASSICS: Documentaries
THE PRINCE AND THE DYBBUK
82’
Director: Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski
Country of Origin: Poland
Production Company: Film Art Production (Poland), Kundschafter Filmproduktion
(Germany), zero one film (Germany).
Contact person: Matthias Miegel (Kundschafter Filmproduktion)
Telephone: +491772503504
Email / Website: mm@kundschafterfilm.de / http://www.kundschafterfilm.de/
Territories available: All except Poland and German-speaking countries.
Synopsis: A cinematic journey on the trail of a mysterious filmmaker. Michal Waszynski, the top
director in pre-war Poland and later an influential figure of the Italian film industry. He worked
together with Orson Welles, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, but the most spectacular movie he
made was out of his own life. He was a real chameleon, who with the help of the magical invention
of cinema continually changed his identity. Those who had the chance to meet him remembered
Waszynski as an aristocrat, a liar, an eternally homeless Jew, as well as a homosexual married to an
Italian countess.
AÑOS LUZ / LIGHT YEARS
70’
Director: Manuel Abramovich
Country of Origin: Argentina
Production Company: Rei Cine (Argentina), Bananeira Filmes (Brazil), El Deseo (Spain),
Patagonik (Argentina).
Contact person: Benjamín Domenech (Rei Cine).
Telephone: +54 9 11 55 77 34 96
Email / Website: bd@reicine.com.ar / www.reicine.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: A documentary portrait of Lucrecia Martel during the shooting of ZAMA.
L'ENIGMA DI JEAN ROUCH A TORINO - CRONACA DI UN FILM RATÉ / THE
ENIGMA OF JEAN ROUCH IN TURIN - CHRONICLE OF A "FILM RATÉ"
90’
Director: Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro, Daniele Pianciola
Country of Origin: Italy
Production Company: Atacama Film (Italy), Les Films du Jeudi (France), Les Films de la
Pléiade (France).
Contact person: Alejandro de la Fuente (Atacama Film).
Telephone: +39 347 4958048
Email / Website: a.delafuente@atacamafilm.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: At the beginning of the eighties the famous French ethnographer and filmmaker Jean
Rouch, one of the leading spirits of the Nouvelle Vague left Africa to come to Turin to make a
movie. The documentary tells the story of what was a true "laboratory of ideas" and the birth of the
film Enigma that came out of it. The documentary, directed by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and
Daniele Pianciola, unveils through original material and the voices of its main protagonists, those
two years between Rouch's arrival and the conclusion of the project. For the first time Rouch
reveals how he worked and communicated his talent and vision.
Link to trailer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8s6AfYkXYhJY2Jwc1JGVGVLTVU/view
BIENNALE COLLEGE CINEMA
STRANGE COLOURS
85’
Director: Alena Lodkina
Country of Origin: Australia
Production Company: Strange Colours Productions (Australia)
Contact person: Kate Laurie, Isaac Wall
Telephone: +61403724247 (Kate), +61411486696 (Isaac)
Email / Website: kateelaurie@gmail.com, wall.isaac@gmail.com /www.strangecolours.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: Milena travels to a remote opal mining community to see her estranged, ill father. Lost
and alone, she falls into his bewildering world, where men escape society and share ideals of
freedom. Soon, he doesn’t want her to leave. Stuck in time, father and daughter try to mend their
fractured bond, but their connection is fragile, like the strange, colourful gems he digs up from the
earth.
Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Y0d6yVpRw
BEAUTIFUL THINGS
93’
Director: Giorgio Ferrero
Country of Origin: Italy
Production Company: MYBOSS srl (Italy).
Contact person: Federico Biasin
Telephone: +39 3476837092
Email / Website: : federico@mybosswas.com / www.mybosswas.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: Van is an oil worker living in Texas, near the most important oil basin in the United
States. Danilo is a chief engineer of trans-oceanic Cargo ships and works every day in the engine in
the heart of the ship. Andrea is an Italian scientist, a luminary in the world of acoustic physics that
has spent his life on books and in silence. Vito spent half of his life managing slot machines in Swiss
clubs and is now responsible for the waste incinerators pit. These men are unknowingly at the basis
of the long chain of creation, transportation, marketing, and destruction of objects in our
contemporary bulimic life and are part of the same story without ever having met. Vittoria and
Andrea are a couple like many others. They have had an accumulating life that is coming to the
saturation point and they are not able to see a way out. They are forty. They have spent their
childhood in the full boom of commercial television, and grown up through the birth of the internet
afterwards. Vittoria and Andrea are us.
Link to trailer:
FINAL CUT IN VENICE
Films in post-production presented at the workshop Final Cut in Venice.
DREAM AWAY
85’
Director: Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke
Country of Origin: Germany, Egypt
Production Company: Monokel (Germany).
Contact person: Roman Roitman (Monokel)
Telephone: +4917632906700
Email / Website: roman@monokel.de/ www.monokel.de
Territories available: All
Synopsis: Recent terror attacks have brought tourism in Sharm El Sheikh to a halt. We follow a
group of young workers in a luxury hotel compound, holding onto the town despite the lack of
tourists. Returning home is not an option, as they have absorbed the liberal life-style and experience
the difficulty of fitting back into their own culture. Sharm El Sheikh has for a long time been a
dream destination for young Egyptians, representing a place of freedom and easy money. Clichés
and stereotypes of both western and oriental culture clash and create a carousel-like experience,
elevating the young Egyptians into a dream-like state. They lead a double life in the shadow of the
shiny shimmering hotel facades, as their families are unaware of the sinful temptations in town. In
the absence of tourists, all are facing an uncertain future. It leaves them in a vacuum of lacking
opportunities, both on a financial and personal level, leading them to an existential quest about
their identity.
A KASHA
85’
Director: hajooj kuka
Country of Origin: Sudan, South Africa, Qatar.
Production Company: Refugee Club (South Africa).
Contact person: Steven Markovitz (Monokel)
Telephone: +4917632906700
Email / Website: steven@bigworld.co.za
Territories available: All
Synopsis: The kasha is the event where the military rounds up any soldiers who have not returned
after their leave. It is an intense moment where everybody's deeply unsettled and a bit scared – the
outside world of revolution has entered a world where things are "normal", lighter. Adnan is a
revolutionary war hero whose love for his AK47 and fighting are only rivaled by his feelings for
Lina, his long-suffering sweetheart. When Adnan is late to return to his military unit after his
leave, the army commander, Blues, launches a kasha: the rounding up and arresting of truant
soldiers. Adnan, distracted by Lina, is caught-off guard and makes a run for it. He joins up with
Absi, a lover-not-a fighter who is dodging the kasha. Together the two unlikely friends plot ways to
reunite Adnan with his gun – and Lina – while avoiding their fellow soldiers. Through a series of
wry incidents over 24 hours, we explore life and ideology in rebel-held areas of Sudan.
INDIVISION / JOINT POSSESSION
105’
Director: Leila Kilani
Country of Origin: France, Morocco.
Production Company: DKB Productions (France), Socco Chico Films (Morocco).
Contact person: Emmanuel Barrault (DKB Productions)
Telephone: +33 6 09 21 87 93
Email / Website: : info@dkbproductions.com /www.dkbproductions.com
Territories Available: All except France
Synopsis: Tangier's topography is in turmoil. Pharaonic real estate projects surround the
Mansouria, a landlocked family estate, up for sale and coveted by Amina and her heirs. Suddenly
fires lit up across the hills.
Link to trailer:
FREEDOM FIELDS
90’
Director: Naziha Arebi
Country of Origin: Lybia, UK.
Production Company: HuNa Productions (Libya), SDI Productions Ltd (UK).
Contact person: Flore Cosquer (SDI Productions Ltd)
Telephone: +44 7900 537 631
Email / Website: : flore@scottishdocinstitute.com
Territories Available: All
Synopsis: In post-revolution Libya a group of women are brought together by one dream: to play
football for their nation. But as the country descends into civil war and the utopian hopes of the
'Arab Spring' begin to fade, can they realise their dream? And is there even a country left to play
for? Freedom Fields is a film about hope and sacrifice in a land where dreams seem a luxury.
Through the eyes of these accidental activists we see the reality of a country in transition, where the
personal stories of love, struggle and aspirations collide with history.
INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS’ WEEK
SARAH JOUE UN LOUP GAROU / SARAH PLAYS A WEREWOLF
86’
Director: Katharina Wyss
Country of Origin: Switzerland, Germany
Production Company: Intermezzo Films (Switzerland), Mnemosyn Films (Switzerland),
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (Germany).
Contact Person: Luc Peter (Intermezzo)
Telephone: +41 76 438 2630
Email / Website: luc@intermezzofilms.ch / www.intermezzofilms.ch
Territories available: All available, except Switzerland
Synopsis: On stage 17-year-old Sarah gives it all. When she performs, there is an instant of
suspense, a moment in which she appears to transform completely into her character. What lies
behind Sarah’s radical stage presence? A dark secret she is trying to express. A claustrophobic
family environment, the longing for a boyfriend, a friend, someone she can confide in. The more
Sarah expresses this desire, the more she ends up alienating the people willing to get close to her. A
few days in the life of an outsider and her incessant struggle to escape solitude.
KÖRFEZ / THE GULF
108’
Director: Emre Yeksan
Country of Origin: Germany, Greece
Production Company: istos film (Turkey), BirFilm (Turkey), Kundschafter Filmproduktion
(Germany), Homemade Films (Greece).
Contact Person: Anna Maria Aslanoğlu (istos film)
Telephone: +90 535 217 52 10
Email / Website: annamaria@istosfilm.com / www.istosfilm.com
Territories available: All except Turkey
Synopsis: Leaving behind a ruined career and a bitter divorce, Selim returns to his hometown
Izmir. Unwilling to make plans for the future, he wanders around, revisiting his past: family,
schoolmates, an ex-lover and the city. He runs into Cihan, a pal from the military service: a lowerclass
idler with charming energy. As people start leaving the city due to a horrible smell caused by a
maritime accident, Selim finds himself gradually drawn to a new world where he’ll embrace
possibilities of life again.
DRIFT
97’
Director: Helena Wittmann
Country of Origin: Germany
Production Company: fuenferfilm (Germany), H,T,N (Germany).
Contact Person: Frank Scheuffele (fuenferfilm)
Telephone: +49 176 238 62874
Email / Website: mail@fuenferfilm.de , frank@fuenferfilm.de / www.fuenferfilm.de
Territories available: All
Synopsis: Two women spend a weekend at the North Sea. One of them will soon return to her
family in Argentina, whereas the other one will try to come a step closer to the ocean. On a sailing
vessel she crosses the Atlantic Ocean. Time leaves the beaten track and the swell lulls to deep sleep.
The sea takes over the narration. And when she reappears, the wind is still in her hair while the
ground beneath her feet is solid. She returns and the other one asks: “Have you changed?”
Link to trailer:
VENICE DAYS
MI HUA ZHI WEI / THE TASTE OF RICE FLOWER
102'
Director: Pengfei
Country of Origin: China
Production Company: Shanghai Uniglobe Film & Culture Co Ltd, China and Mishka
Production, China.
Contact Person: Clement Magar (GO Global)
Telephone: +86 177 1011 8183
Email / Website: Clement_Magar@goglobalfilm.com / http://www.imglobalfilm.com
Territories available: All
Synopsis: After years working in town, Ye Nan, a mother from Dai Minority, comes back to her
village in Yunnan at the Sino-Burmese border. She wants to take care of her left-behind 13-year-old
problem daughter. However, the road to rebuild their relationship is full of obstacles. One day the
daughter is arrested for stealing money in the most sacred temple with her friend, who gets sick
afterwards. As people think the girls are possessed by devil, they decide to save the girls and their
village by going to worship the stone Buddha in the 250-million-year-old karst cave…
Link to trailer:
(Password: riceflower)
GETTING NAKED: A BURLESQUE STORY
85'
Director: James Lester
Country of Origin: United States
Production Company: Lester Films, Inc. (USA), Burlesque Film LLC (USA).
Contact Person: Susan Wrubel (Wry Films)
Telephone: +19179164449
Email / Website: Swrubel@gmail.com/ https://prolabs.imdb.com/name/nm2778470/?ref_=sch_int
Territories available: All
Synopsis: “Getting Naked: A Burlesque Story” peels back the curtain to reveal the sexy subculture
of the neo-burlesque scene in New York City. This verité documentary intimately follows
four performers, each of whom has discovered a newfound identity and belongs in a world of bawdy
comedy and striptease. However, they find that all that glitters is not necessarily gold, as this
liberating community does not insulate from the harsh realities of sexism, illness and existential
crisis. “Getting Naked” explores what it means to be an artist, an entertainer, and a woman in the
toughest city on Earth.
Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CIHRvHLca0&t=10s
IL RESOLUTO / THE RESOLUTE
160'
Director: Giovanni Donfrancesco
Country of Origin: Italy, France
Production Company: Les Films du Poisson (France), Altara Films (Italy).
Contact Person: Estelle Fialon (Les Films du Poisson)
Telephone: +33675565387
Email / Website: estelle@filmsdupoisson.com / www.filmsdupoisson.com
Territories available: All except for France (TV) - Italy (TV) - Germany (TV) .
Synopsis: From the depths of his retirement in the woods of Vermont, in the United States, an old
87-year-old Italian turns back on his life. From his memories of the war, resurge a past of violence
in the ranks of the Xth MAS, one of the bloodiest fascist militias, and stunning revelations about
Mussolini's famous war treasure.
Link to trailer: