Ukrainian, Iranian Docs, Kenyan Sci-Fi Set for Venice Days Lineup

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This year’s Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival will showcase politically-driven dramas and documentaries hailing from various countries such as Ukraine, Iran, Mexico, and Kenya, with screenings set to begin in 2025.

This program features a variety of films, including “Memory” by Ukrainian artist and filmmaker Vladlena Sandu, who uses her personal war experiences in Chechnya as inspiration for her cinematic exploration of traumatic memories. Next is “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes” by Spanish director Gabriel Azorín, a unique tale of friendship and loss involving modern-day children and ancient Roman soldiers, both coexisting in a thermal spring at night. Lastly, there’s “Memory of Princess Mumbi” by Kenyan filmmaker Damien Hauser, a blend of sci-fi, mockumentary, and animation that paints a dystopian picture of an African continent in the year 2093, following an A.I.-induced disaster.

The artistic director of Venice Days, Gaia Furrer, has assembled a 10-film competition lineup featuring 2 Iranian movies that delve into the theme of exile. These films are “Past Future Continuous,” a documentary by Firouzeh Khosrovani and Morteza Ahmadvand, which narrates the story of an Iranian woman who had to flee after the Islamic Revolution and can now only watch her parents in Tehran through security cameras installed in their home. The second film is “Inside Amir,” directed by Amir Azizi, which delves into the director’s personal struggles and uncertainties regarding emigration.

At the Venice Days event outside of competition, there’s a variety of special events scheduled, such as documentaries like “Who Is Still Alive” by Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff, which tells the stories of nine Palestinian refugees from Gaza, and “With Writing Life” by French documentarian Claire Simon, which creates a portrait of the youth through readings of Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux’s works by French high school students. Additionally, the sidebar features the 9-film section Venetian Nights, showcasing films from prominent Italian film producers.

Gianni Di Gregorio, an Italian director known for the critically acclaimed “Mid-August Lunch,” which won the Lion of the Future prize at Venice Critics’ Week in 2008, is back on the Lido with his comedy “Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t.” In this film, he plays a retired professor whose peaceful and routine life is disrupted by the arrival of his daughter and boisterous grandchildren. The movie will conclude Venice Days, screening out of competition.

This year’s Venice Days jury president is Norwegian writer and director Dag Johan Haugerud, whose queer love story “Dreams,” the last film in his “Sex, Love, Dreams” trilogy, won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlinale in February. Haugerud’s breakthrough movie, “Barn,” premiered at Venice Days in 2019. Accompanying him on the jury are Italian producer Francesca Andreoli (known for “Vermiglio”), Franco-Palestinian filmmaker Lina Soualem (whose work includes “Bye Bye Tiberias”), Tunisian cinematographer Sofian El Fani (responsible for “Timbuktu”), and Josh Siegel, a film curator from New York’s MoMA.

Check out the full Venice Days lineup below.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

As a game enthusiast, I’m excited to check out these films at the festival! Here they are:
– Memory, directed by Vladlena Sandu (France, Netherlands) – opening film
– La gioia, directed by Nicolangelo Gelormini (Italy)
– Bearcave, directed by Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis (Greece, UK)
– Short Summer, directed by Nastia Korkia (Germany, France, Serbia)
– A Sad and Beautiful World, directed by Cyril Aris (Lebanon, USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
– Past Future Continuous, directed by Firouzeh Khosrovani and Morteza Ahmadvand (Iran, Norway, Italy)
– Memory of Princess Mumbi, directed by Damien Hauser (Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland)
– Vainilla, directed by Mayra Hermosillo (Mexico)
– Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes, directed by Gabriel Azorín (Spain, Portugal)
– Inside Amir, directed by Amir Azizi (Iran)
– And lastly, Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t, directed by Gianni Di Gregorio (Italy, France) – closing film, out of competition

Can’t wait to immerse myself in these stories!

SPECIAL EVENTS

* “Laguna” – Lake or Lagoon, directed by Sharunas Bartas (Lithuania, France)
* “Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students” – The Life of Writing: Observations of High School Students on Annie Ernaux, directed by Claire Simon (France)
* “The Peaceful Life – A Tragic Comedy About Hate, Family, and Other Quiet Things” – A Peaceful Existence: A Tragicomic Exploration of Hate, Family, and the Subtle in Life, directed by Gianluca Matarrese (Italy)
* “Who Is Still Alive” – Who Remains Alive, directed by Nicolas Wadimoff (Switzerland, France)
* “Do You Love Me” – Do You Care for Me, directed by Lana Daher (France)

NOTTI VENEZIANE (Venetian Nights)

At 6:06, directed by Tekla Taidelli (Italy)
Amata, directed by Elisa Amoruso (Italy)
Confiteor, directed by Bonifacio Angius (Italy and Poland)
Una cosa vicina, directed by Loris Nese (Italy)
Dom, directed by Massimiliano Battistella (Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Film di stato, directed by Roland Sejko (Italy)
Indietro così, directed by Antonio Morabito (Italy)
Life Beyond the Pine Curtain, directed by Giovanni Troilo (Italy)
Toni, mio padre, directed by Anna Negri (Italy)

In this version, I’ve used “directed by” instead of “” to indicate the director’s name and country, and removed the parentheses around the country names for a cleaner look.

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2025-07-24 12:55