Venice 2024 Critics’ Week titles include films starring Adele Exarchopoulos and Albrecht Schuch as well as UK title Paul & Paulette Take A Bath and Trump supporter documentary Homegrown.
Anywhere, Anytime (It)
Dir. Milad Tangshir
The debut fiction feature from the Iran-born, Italy-resident director follows an illegal immigrant in Turin whose job as a food delivery driver is put in jeopardy when his bike is stolen. Co-written by Tangshir alongside Giaime Alonge and Daniele Gaglianone, the film stars Ibrahima Sambou in his first acting project. It is produced by Vivo Film, in co-production with Young Films and Rai Cinema, and was funded largely by Piemonte Film TV Fund. International sales agent Fandango also distributes in Italy.
Contact: Fandango Sales
Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Viet-Sing-Phil-Indo)
Dir. Duong Dieu Linh
The Vietnamese director’s debut feature follows a woman who discovers her husband’s affair on live TV and then attempts to use witchcraft to win back his love, unwittingly summoning an unwanted spirit. Linh, whose short films include A Trip To Heaven (Locarno, 2020), attended Berlinale Talents in 2020. Don’t Cry, Butterfly was developed at script labs including, most recently, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, and is supported by Singapore Film Commission, Purin Pictures and Visions Sud Est.
Contact: Barunson E&A
Homegrown (US)
Dir. Michael Premo
Premo played Tribeca in 2013 with participatory documentary Sandy Storyline, about Hurricane Sandy, which he co-directed, and returned in 2017 with doc short Water Warriors. Homegrown follows supporters of Trump during the 2020 election year, leading to the storming of the US Capitol in January 2021. It is produced by Premo’s Storyline, with Jim Urquhart, Robyn Braun Serrano, Rachel Falcone and Marshall Hanig.
Contact: Mitch Clare, MetFilm Sales
Little Jaffna (Fr)
Dir. Lawrence Valin
French actor-turned-director Valin closes Critics’ Week non‑competitively with his debut feature, in which he also stars as a police officer in the titular Paris district’s Tamil community, infiltrating a crime organisation that is funnelling funds to separatist rebels in Sri Lanka. Little Jaffna is produced by Marc Bordure for Agat Films — Ex Nihilo and Simone Bleuzé for Mean Streets.
Contact: Charades
No Sleep Till (US-Switz)
Dir. Alexandra Simpson
The US-French filmmaker’s feature debut is a drama about three locals staying in their Florida town despite the threat of a hurricane, joined by an obsessive stormchaser. Also an actress and editor, Simpson is part of Omnes Films — a collective that produced two Cannes 2024 films: Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point and Eephus. Omnes’ Tyler Taormina produces, and Simpson is among the executive producers.
Contact: Tyler Taormina, Omnes Films
Paul & Paulette Take A Bath (UK)
Dir. Jethro Massey
The UK-French filmmaker makes his feature debut having screened several shorts and music videos on the international festival circuit. Paul & Paulette Take A Bath, a dark comedy set in Paris, centres on two people — one American, one French — who forge a connection built on re-enacting historical crimes at their original sites. Marie Benati and Jérémie Galiana star, while Massey’s UK-based production company Film Fabric produces.
Contact: Film Fabric
Peacock (Austria-Ger)
Dir. Bernhard Wenger
All Quiet On The Western Front star Albrecht Schuch leads Vienna-based Wenger’s debut feature, about a man working at a friend-for-hire scheme who grows to realise he can pretend to be anyone but himself. Peacock is produced by Austria’s NGF Geyrhalter Filmproduktion and Germany’s Cala Filmproduktion. Wenger drew international attention with his 2018 short film Excuse Me I’m Looking For The Ping-Pong Room And My Girlfriend, followed in 2019 by Guy Proposes To His Girlfriend On A Mountain.
Contact: Francisco Zambrano, mk2 Films
Perfumed With Mint (Egy-Fr-Tunisia-Qat)
Dir. Muhammed Hamdy
Hailing from Cairo, Hamdy is best known for his work as a cinematographer, with credits including the 2014 Oscar-nominated documentary The Square, for which he won a Primetime Emmy. His feature directing debut follows a doctor who receives an unusual visit from an old friend who has mint growing from his body. Fares Ladjimi produces through French outfit Supernova Films. The cast includes Alaa En Din Hamada, Mahdy Abo Bahat, Abdo Zin El Din and Hatem Emam Moustafa.
Contact: Anna Krupnova, Reason8 Films
Planet B (Fr-Belg)
Dir. Aude Léa Rapin
Opening Critics’ Week non-competitively is Rapin’s second feature, a French- and English-language dystopian film starring Adele Exarchopoulos as an activist who disappears mysteriously after participating in a violent protest, waking up on a different planet. The cast includes Souheila Yacoub, Eliane Umuhire and India Hair. Planet B is produced by Les Films Du Bal and Wrong Men. Rapin’s debut Heroes Don’t Die screened at Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2019.
Contact: Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal
Venice profiles by Gabriella Berkeley-Agyepong, Ellie Calnan, Adam Cole, Ben Dalton, Tim Dams, Charles Gant, Elaine Guerini, Jeremy Kay, Rebecca Leffler, Lee Marshall, Michael Rosser, Matt Schley, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong
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