(by Francesca Pierleoni)
The red thread "of this year's selection came quite naturally. These are all films in which the protagonists move, experience spiritual, psychological, inner disorientation, but often physical as well. They cross intimate and geographical borders." So says Gaia Furrer, artistic director of the Venice Days, the autonomous parallel section promoted by Anac and 100autori, now in its 23rd edition as part of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival (2 to 12 September). The first year without the guidance of Giorgio Gosetti, co-founder and long-serving general delegate who passed away in March. This edition is dedicated to him; in his honour the "Laguna Film Lab. Giorgio Gosetti Artistic Residency" has also been created, in collaboration with the initiative on documentary cinema curated by ZaLab in Chioggia. "It is clear that all these months of work and everything we have done is dedicated to Giorgio," an emotional Furrer emphasises.
Returning to the Venice Days programme (which this year has Siae as its main sponsor), from 1,036 submissions from 114 countries the 2026 selection has taken shape, with 25 world premieres, 14 of which directed by women and 13 of Italian nationality: 10 films in competition, one closing film out of competition, 5 special events and nine titles in Notti Veneziane, organised in agreement with Isola Edipo. The only Italian film in competition is Balcanica, the debut feature by Nicola Sorcinelli starring Matilda De Angelis. The story begins with the flight from Afghanistan, when music is banned, of an orchestra conductor (Babak Karimi) and his son, a tuba player. Together they seek a new beginning along the Balkan route, where amid border checks and pushbacks they will encounter an Italian doctor (De Angelis, who is also an associate producer of the film).
Opening the competition is My Notes on Mars by Lili Horvat, an intimate science fiction film with Mackenzie Davis and Rupert Friend. Also in competition, among others, is Agata the Writer by Kuba Dorabialski, with Mia Wasikowska as an Australian writer who arrives in Sarajevo to work on a novel about the Bosnian conflict. In I Plant My Hand in the Garden, Iranian director Hoda Taheri and Serbian director Boris Hadzija, both queer, play themselves in a work blending documentary and fiction.
Making its first appearance in the Venice Days competition is Nigeria, with Dear Ajayi by Damilola Orimogunje, about the complex relationship between two sisters. The acclaimed French director Robert Guediguian, in Une femme aujourd'hui, tells the story of Juliette (Marilou Aussilloux), a 35-year-old manager who must rebuild her life after being assaulted by a colleague.
The closing film out of competition will be Peau d'homme by Léa Domenach, a queer and feminist musical comedy featuring Karin Viard and Catherine Deneuve, set in the Italian Renaissance, which uses fantasy and irony to question identity, desire and social roles.
Among the special events out of competition is a documentary by Francesca Archibugi, Carla Lonzi, Dentro e Fuori dal Mondo, which through testimonies — from Battista Lena, the musician who was the director's life partner and son of Carla Lonzi, to Nanni Moretti — and archival materials, explores the public and private life of one of the most radical voices of Italian feminism.
Opening Notti Veneziane, the showcase dedicated to world premieres of Italian titles, will be Scarpe Rotte by Roberta Torre, with Barbara Ronchi and Mersila Sokoli, set in Rome during the
World War II and freely inspired by the biography of Natalia Ginzburg. Also scheduled, among others, is Il mestiere by Beppe Tufarulo, with Luigi Lo Cascio in the role of Sauro Cantafame, who "fixes" the dead to allow families to continue collecting their pension, and Uno si distrae al bivio by Alessandra Lancellotti, which in Lucania, between western and musical influences, pays tribute to the poetry of Rocco Scotellaro.
In Confronti, a space for words and vision, films such as Fame d'aria by Giuseppe Bonito, based on the novel by Daniele Mencarelli, about the difficult journey of a father with his autistic son, will be screened. Finally, the Miu Miu Women's Tales return with Discipline by Mona Fastvold, starring Amanda Seyfried, and Avec Kim by Claire Denis, which features rocker Kim Gordon as its protagonist.
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