Venice’s 2024 Horizon titles include films from Alex Ross Perry, Valerio Mastandrea and Scandar Copti.
Aïcha (Tun-Fr-It-Saudi-Qat)
Dir. Mehdi Barsaoui
Aïcha is the second feature from Tunisian director Barsaoui, whose debut A Son was a best actor prize-winner for Sami Bouajila in Horizons 2019. The filmmaker’s latest centres on a woman who tries to start a new life in Tunis after surviving an accident, but her new identity is compromised when she becomes the main witness to a police mistake. The international co-production includes Tunisia’s Cinétélefilms, Saudi Arabia’s CineWave Films, France’s 13 Prods and Italy’s Dorje Film.
Contact: The Party Film Sales
Carissa (S Afr)
Dirs. Jason Jacobs, Devon Delma
South African drama Carissa has a close association with Venice, having participated in last year’s Final Cut In Venice lab. Set in a rural South African community, the film focuses on the title character’s realisation that a career opportunity at a new luxury golf estate will involve building over her estranged grandfather’s rooibos tea farm. Produced by Deidre Jantjies and Annemarie Du Plessis, Carissa has also been through New York’s Gotham Film Week, Rotterdam’s CineMart and its homeland market, Durban FilmMart.
Contact: Anna Krupnova, Reason8 Films
Familia (It)
Dir. Francesco Costabile
Costabile’s debut, Calabrian mafia drama Una Femmina — The Code Of Silence, played in the Berlinale’s Panorama in 2022. Venice has followed suit, programming the director’s follow-up in its parallel Horizons competition. The story of a son’s rebellion against an abusive father is based on the autobiography of former skinhead Luigi Celeste. Familia’s producers are Tramp Limited, Indigo Film and O’Groove, while Medusa handles Italian distribution
Contact: Giulia Casavecchia, True Colours
Familiar Touch (US)
Dir Sarah Friedland
The coming-of-age feature from filmmaker and choreographer Friedland centres on an elderly woman who contemplates her identity on moving into an assisted-living facility. Friedland’s debut feature went through the Berlinale Talent Scripts Station/Project Lab and is produced by Friedland, Alexandra Byer of New York-based Rathaus Films and Matthew Thurm. Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle and Andy McQueen star.
Contact: Rathaus Films
Feeling Better (It)
Dir. Valerio Mastandrea
By now a veteran of the Italian scene, recently seen alongside Toni Servillo and Pierfrancesco Favino in crime drama Adagio, Roman actor Mastandrea turns director for the second time (after 2018’s Laughing). He also stars in this tragicomic hospital yarn, as a long-term patient for whom the ward is a refuge from life’s cares and responsibilities. Among the producers for this Horizons opener (Italian title Nonostante translates as ‘Notwithstanding’ or ‘Despite’) is leading Italian actress/director Valeria Golino, while the music is from Icelandic composer Toti Gudnason (2021’s Lamb).
Contact: Tenderstories
Happy Holidays (Pal-Fr-Ger-It-Qat)
Dir. Scandar Copti
Palestinian filmmaker Copti’s 2009 feature debut Ajami, co-directed with Yaron Shani, picked up a Camera d’Or special mention at Cannes and went on to be nominated for the best foreign-language feature Oscar. Copti’s second feature sees a minor accident in contemporary Jerusalem set off a chain of events that sow division. It is produced by Germany’s Red Balloon Film, France’s Tessalit Productions, Italy’s Intramovies and Palestine’s Fresco Films.
Contact: Indie Sales
Happyend (Japan-US)
Dir. Neo Sora
This surveillance drama marks the feature fiction debut of Sora, who was at Venice in 2023 with Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, a concert film featuring his late musician father. Hayato Kurihara and Yukito Hidaka star as two high-schoolers in a near-future Tokyo who pull a prank that leads to increased surveillance at their school. It is produced by Zakkubalan, Cineric Creative, Cinema Inutile and Giraffe Pictures. Bitters End will open the film in Japan on October 5. Magnify has sales rights outside Japan and Singapore.
Contact: Magnify
Marco (Sp)
Dirs. Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi
Garaño and Arregi directed San Sebastian premieres The Endless Trench (2019) and The Giant (2017). The pair’s latest stars Eduard Fernandez as Enric Marco, a controversial Spanish Catalan trade unionist who falsely claimed internment in Nazi concentration camps. Producers include Xabier Berzosa for Moriarti, the company Garaño and Arregi were part of founding in 2001.
Contact: Film Factory Entertainment
Mistress Dispeller (US-China)
Dir. Elizabeth Lo
This documentary follows a case of infidelity as a wife hires a ‘mistress dispeller’, a growing profession in China, to break up her husband’s affair and save her own marriage. Debuting in Venice before heading to Toronto, the film is backed by Anonymous Content and Impact Partners and produced by Emma D Miller of SXSW 2022 award winner What We Leave Behind and Shanghai-based Maggie Li, co‑producer of 2022 Oscar-nominated documentary Ascension. Director Lo’s debut feature Stray premiered at Tribeca in 2020 and won best international feature at Hot Docs.
Contact: The Party Film Sales
My Everything (Fr)
Dir. Anne-Sophie Bailly
France’s Bailly makes her feature debut with a family-focused drama starring Laure Calamy as a woman whose relationship with her adult son with intellectual disabilities is tested when she discovers he has made his disabled co-worker pregnant. Calamy stars opposite a cast of actors with disabilities. The film is produced by David Thion’s Les Films Pelléas, whose credits include Palme d’Or and Oscar winner Anatomy Of A Fall.
Contact: Jean-Benoit Henry, Les Films du Losange
The New Year That Never Came (Rom-Ser)
Dir. Bogdan Muresanu
Six lives become intertwined in Romania as political tensions rise in Muresanu’s debut feature, set a day before the 1989 Romanian revolution begins. The tragicomedy is produced by Kinotopia and co-produced by Romania’s public television service TVR and Chainsaw Europe. Significant financial support has come from the Romanian Film Centre and Creative Europe Media. The cast is led by Adrian Vancica, who also starred in Muresanu’s The Christmas Gift (best short at the 2019 European Film Awards).
Contact: Sebastien Chesneau, Cercamon
Nineteen (It-UK)
Dir. Giovanni Tortorici
A curious and restless 19-year-old student is on a path of self-discovery, travelling and studying between London and Italy in the debut feature of Italy’s Tortorici, who was a trainee assistant director on Luca Guadagnino’s TV series We Are Who We Are. Guadagnino (in Venice with Competition title Queer) is a producer on the project, as are Agustina Costa Varsi and Marco Morabito for Frenesy Film Company and Paula Vaccaro and Aaron Brookner for Pinball London. The cast includes Manfredi Marini and Vittoria Planeta.
Contact: Playtime
Of Dogs And Men (Isr-It)
Dir. Dani Rosenberg
Rosenberg’s third feature is set in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, as a girl returns to her kibbutz to look for her dog and must navigate the horrors that occurred. It filmed on location in October-November 2023 immediately after the attacks, with a small crew, mostly improvised dialogue and no constructed sets. Alexander Rodnyansky produces for his US firm AR Content, with Itai Tamir of Israel’s Laila Films and Donatella Palermo of Italy’s Stemal Entertainment. Rosenberg’s previous feature, 2023’s The Vanishing Soldier, was nominated for 11 Israeli Film Academy awards, winning best cinematography.
Contact: Fulvio Firrito, Rai Cinema International Distribution
One Of Those Days When Hemme Dies (Turkey)
Dir. Murat Firatoglu
The feature debut of Turkey’s Firatoglu — who also stars, writes and produces — took part in Sarajevo’s Cinelink work-in-progress strand last year, winning the post-production award and completing its post in Germany. The film centres on seasonal farm worker Eyüp, who sets out to kill his foreman Hemme after not receiving his daily wage, but his commitment to the grisly task is weakened by the people he meets during the day. Firatoglu, who lives in Istanbul and works as a lawyer, funded the film with debts and loans from family and friends.
Contact: Murat Firatoglu
Pavements (US)
Dir. Alex Ross Perry
One of the most iconic bands of the US indie rock movement, Stephen Malkmus’s Pavement gets the documentary treatment from Perry in what is described as a scripted hybrid that shows the band preparing for its 2022 comeback tour and other projects. The band members appear alongside actor and musician Joe Keery (aka Djo) and Jason Schwartzman. Alldayeveryday and Pulse Films are among the producers. Perry directed Pavement’s ‘Harness Your Hopes’ music video in 2022 and his features include Her Smell and Listen Up Philip.
Contact: Utopia
Pooja, Sir (Nepal-US-Nor)
Dir. Deepak Rauniyar
Nepalese director Rauniyar, whose feature debut White Sun won the Interfilm award in Horizons 2016, returns to the festival strand with a crime thriller inspired by events that took place during 2015 race protests in Nepal. The story revolves around a female detective inspector who faces down discrimination and misogyny to investigate the case of two kidnapped boys. Aadi Films, Tannhauser Gate and Baasuri Films produce. After White Sun, Rauniyar directed 16-minute drama Four Nights, which premiered in the Berlinale’s shorts competition in 2022.
Contact: Meret Ruggle, Trigon Films
Quiet Life (Fr-Ger-Swe-Greece-Est-Fin)
Dir. Alexandros Avranas
Greece’s Avranas won awards for his Venice 2013 thriller Miss Violence, including the Silver Lion for best director. In his latest, a refugee family in Sweden have their resilience tested when the youngest daughter falls into a mysterious coma and their asylum application is rejected. Quiet Life is produced by French outfits Les Films du Worso and Elle Driver with Germany’s Senator Film, Greece’s Playground and Asterisk, Estonia’s Amrion Production, Sweden’s Fox In The Snow Films and Finland’s Making Movies.
Contact: Elle Driver
The Ties That Bind Us (Fr-Belg)
Dir. Carine Tardieu
Tardieu’s fifth feature is a drama about different ways to create a family. It follows an independent feminist librarian who has opted not to become a mother but bonds with her neighbours: a young single father and his child. The film (French title L’Attachement) stars Pio Marmaï, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Raphaël Quenard and Vimala Pons. Tardieu reteams with Karé Productions after 2021 Rome premiere The Young Lovers and 2017 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry Just To Be Sure.
Contact: Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal
Wishing On A Star (It-Cro-Austria-Slovakia-Czech)
Dir. Peter Kerekes
Slovakian director Kerekes returns to Venice after winning the Horizons 2021 best screenplay award for 107 Mothers. Shot in Italy, Wishing On A Star follows an astrologer and her clients as they go to specific destinations on their birthdays, hoping their dreams will come true. Videomante (Italy), Artcam Films (Czech Republic), Kerekes Films (Slovakia), Mischief Films (Austria), Restart (Croatia) and Volos Films (Italy) are producers, with financial support including Creative Europe Media and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund.
Contact: Valeska Neu, Films Boutique
Horizons Extra
After Party (Czech)
Dir. Vojtech Strakaty
The young Czech filmmaker’s feature debut centres on a woman thrown into chaos when her father’s debts see their house repossessed and she must choose between saving her parent or herself. Produced by Marek Novak from Xova Films and co-produced by i/o post, Studio BEEP and Ceska Televize, After Party is funded primarily by the Czech Film Fund. Newcomer Eliska Basusova stars alongside Anna Tomanova and Jan Zadrazil.
Contact: Xavier Henry-Rashid, Film Republic
Edge Of Night (Ger-Turkey)
Dir. Türker Süer
Set in 2016, during the attempted coup in Turkey, Cologne-born Süer’s feature debut stars Three Monkeys actor Ahmet Rifat Sungar as a lieutenant juggling loyalty to the state or his own family. It is produced by The Match Factory and co-produced by Liman Film, and participated in the 2023 European Work in Progress event in Cologne (under the title Brothers). Süer has made several shorts and was selected for the 2006 edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus.
Contact: The Match Factory
King Ivory (US)
Dir. John Swab
James Badge Dale plays a police officer and Ben Foster is an Irish mob boss in this crime thriller about an Oklahoma cop who takes on those responsible for his son’s fentanyl addiction. Melissa Leo, George Carroll and Michael Mando also star. Production took place in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jeremy M Rosen of Roxwell Films produces and Ali Jazayeri and Viviana Zarragoitia of Three Point Capital executive produce. Swab directed Rotterdam 2023 selection Little Dixie and Locarno 2022 entry Candy Land.
Contact: WME Independent
The Mohican (Fr)
Dir. Frédéric Farrucci
France’s Farrucci, whose 2019 debut Night Ride played festivals in his home country, makes his A-list festival debut with this crime drama about a Corsican shepherd (Alexis Manenti) on the run after killing a mobster who tried to intimidate him into giving up the land for a real-estate project. Farrucci reteams with Night Ride producer Koro Films, and Ad Vitam distributes in France.
Contact: Be For Films
Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo (Egy-Saudi)
Dir. Khaled Mansour
The first Egyptian film to play at Venice for 12 years, Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo is director Mansour’s feature debut. The drama about a man who goes on a journey to save his best friend — titular dog Rambo — is produced by Egypt’s Mohamed Hefzy through Film Clinic and critic and programmer Rasha Hosny in her feature producing debut. Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo has taken part in several film financing forums and development labs, and has received grants from Red Sea Film Fund, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the CineGouna Platform, among others.
Contact: Jessica Khoury, Film Clinic Indie Distribution Worldwide
September 5 (Ger)
Dir. Tim Fehlbaum
Opening Horizons Extra is Switzerland-born Fehlbaum’s follow-up to 2021’s The Colony, winner of several German Film Awards. Set during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, September 5 follows US sports broadcasters as Israeli athletes are taken hostage by terrorist group Black September. The cast includes Peter Sarsgaard (Venice 2023 best actor winner for Memory), John Magaro, Ben Chaplin and Leonie Benesch. Sean Penn is among the producers along with BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion and Projected Picture Works, in co-production with Constantin Film and ERF Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion. Paramount’s Republic Pictures has global rights outside of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Contact: Jennifer Weingroff, Republic Pictures
The Story Of Frank And Nina (It-Switz)
Dir. Paola Randi
Randi has moved across genres since her 2010 debut Into Paradiso, which premiered in Venice’s short-lived Controcampo Italiano sidebar. She co-penned the script of this Milan-set coming-of-age drama with Valia Santella, an experienced screenwriter who specialises in collaborations with writer/directors — among them Marco Bellocchio and Nanni Moretti. Tracking the self-affirmation of three suburban teenagers united by complex bonds of love and friendship, Randi’s latest feature is co-produced by Fandango (which distributes at home) with Rai Cinema and Switzerland’s Spotlight Media.
Contact: Fandango Sales
Vittoria (It)
Dirs. Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman
Italian documentary director Cassigoli and US news reporter and cameraman Kauffman met when they shared a flat in Florence. The entwining of their work and lives became the subject of the pair’s 2017 debut The Things We Keep. The tough Neapolitan satellite town of Torre Annunziata has been the setting of all three of their features since then, including adoption saga Vittoria, which like Butterfly (2018), welds a scripted drama onto the true story of its lead actress. Butterfly impressed Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti enough to step in as co-producer.
Contact: Micaela Fusco, Intramovies
The Witness (Ger-Austria)
Dir. Nader Saeivar
Iranian director Saeivar’s third feature — following The Alien (aka Namo, 2020) and No End (2022) — tells the story of a widow who witnesses the murder of her friend by a government figure. She risks her life to go public after police refuse to investigate. The Farsi- and Azerbaijani-language film reunites Jafar Panahi and Saeivar as co-writers, after the duo won Cannes’ best screenplay award in 2018 with 3 Faces. Producers are ArtHood Films, Golden Girls and Sky Films.
Contact: Manola Novelli, ArtHood Entertainment
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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