Online screenings of films selected for the 72nd Venice International Film Festival
Interruption, Yorgos Zoi
The 72nd edition of the Venice International Film Festival is on from 2nd till 12th September, and just like last year, there's a list of films that will be screened online (EUR 4 per film) for a limited period for the first 400 people who buy a ticket.
There are 14 films in total that are scheduled to screen between 3rd and 16th September 2015. Full details and schedule can be found here.
I will book my tickets soon and enjoy another year of a mini Venice International Film Festival at home. Here are my top 10 from this year's selection:
Director: Gabriel Mascaro | Brazilian-Portuguese (with English subtitles) | 101 min
Playing from 3rd-8th September 2015
Iremar works at the Vaquejadas, a rodeo in the Northeast of Brazil, where two men on horseback try bring down a bull by grabbing its tail. It’s dusty and back-breaking work, but Iremar is a natural ‘Vaqueiro’ feeding, prepping and taking care of the bulls. Home is the truck used to transport the animals from show to show which he shares with his co-workers: Galega, an exotic dancer, truck driver and mother to her spirited and cheeky daughter Cacá, and Zé, his rotund compadre in the bull pen.
Together they form a makeshift but close-knit family. But Brazil and the Northeast are changing and the region's booming clothing industry has stirred new ambitions in Iremar. Swinging in his hammock in the back of the truck, his head is filled with dreams of pattern cutting, sequins and exquisite fabrics as he mentally assembles his latest sexy fashion designs.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/neon-bull
Director: Renato De Maria | Italian (with English subtitles)
Playing from 3rd-8th September 2015
An original, spectacular journey through the most sensational exploits of the local underworld. Thirty years of violent stories sanctioned by news and films. A gallery of faces, testimonies and period footage.
A many-voiced portrayal following the trail of the main exponents of Italian crime that becomes a tumultuous tale of the social transformations running throughout the history of our country.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/italian-gangsters
Director: Anna Rose Holmer | 71 min | English
Playing from 4th-9th September 2015
Toni, a tomboyish boxer, lands a spot on an after-school drill team in the West End community of Cincinnati. She eagerly absorbs routines, masters drills, and even pierces her own ears to fit in. It’s the joy of her first friendships and her discovery of dance. Shortly after Toni joins the team, most of the girls on the team suffer from episodes of fainting, swooning, and shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable catharsis.
Nobody can explain the mysterious outbreak. These fits soon transform into a rite of passage as the trauma draws the other girls closer together. Caught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/the-fits
Director: Kohki Hasei | 75 min | Filipino (with English subtitles)
Playing from 5th-10th September 2015
11-years-old Blanka survives alone in Manila begging and stealing from tourists. One day, an absurd idea pops up: if she could buy a mother, she could have a good life. But she has to make countless efforts in order to collect enough money.
An opportunity arises when she meets Peter, a 55 years old blind street musician, who teaches Blanka how to sing, a skill out of which she can make money. However, concerned about Blanka’s future, Peter decides to take Blanka to an orphanage. When she finds out, she runs away and the nightmare starts again.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/blanka
Director: Pema Tseden | 123 min | Chinese, Tibetan (with English subtitles)
Playing from 5th-10th September 2015
Tharlo is an orphan. Now grown up, he makes a living as a sheep herder in the village. He has grown a ponytail, so people simply call him Ponytail, since nobody remembers his real name anyway. Tharlo has a remarkable memory. He remembers so many things, except his own name. He is now in his forties, and he has yet to have his first woman.
Now Tharlo goes to town to take a photo for his identity card. He meets a girl in the barber’s shop who changes the course of his life. He embarks on the journey to find his true self. He sells all his sheeps and those entrusted by other villagers to him for care, and decides to use the money to go out into the world with the girl, only to find himself being deceived and cheated by her.
Ironically, in his journey of self-discovery, Tharlo has lost his sense of self. As he witnesses in the mirror his ponytail being cut off and leaving him bald, he can no longer see himself as a man with a history that he recognizes.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/tharlo
Chaharshanbeh, 19 Ordibehesht (Wednesday, May 9)
Director: Vah7d Jalilvand | 102 min | Farsi (with English subtitles)
Playing from 7th-12th September 2015
A man named Jalal publishes an unusual advertisement in one of Tehran’s morning papers to donate $10,000 to a needy person. The news gathers a large group of people. At the end of the day, he receives many application forms, and he eventually decides to choose one by chance.
Those who have applied insist that what's been advertised is the only solution to their problem. The police take charge of the situation by calming the people and having them dispersed. However, two women do not give up: Setareh, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, and Leila, Jalal’s ex-fiancée…
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/wednesday-may-9
Director: Merzak Allouache | 90 min | Arabic (with French, English, Italian subtitles)
Playing from 7th-12th September 2015
Omar, an unstable and lonely teenager, lives in a slum in the suburbs of Mostaganem, Algeria. He is addicted to a famous psychotropic, nicknamed “Madame Courage”: Artane tablets, very popular among young Algerians, for their euphoric effect of invincibility. Omar is an expert thief.
One morning, he goes downtown to commit his usual crimes. His first prey is a young girl called Selma, walking with her friends, prominently wearing a gold necklace. As he commits his larceny, their eyes meet.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/madame-courage
Director: Yorgos Zois | 109 min | Greek (with English, Italian subtitles)
Playing from 8th-13th September 2015
A post-modern theater adaptation of a classic Greek tragedy takes place in a central theater of Athens. Like every night, the audience take their seats and the play begins. Suddenly, the lights on stage go out. A group of young people, dressed in black and carrying guns, come up on stage.
They apologize for the interruption and invite people from the audience to participate on stage. The play resumes with a main difference; life imitates art and not the opposite.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/interruption
Director: Anita Rocha da Silveira | 101 min Brazilian-Portuguese (with English subtitles)
Playing from 9th-14th September 2015
Barra da Tijuca, West Side Zone of Rio de Janeiro. A wave of murderers plague the area. What starts off as a morbid curiosity for the local youth slowly begins to spoil away at their lives. Among them is Bia, a 15-year-old girl. After an encounter with death, she will do anything to make sure she's alive.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/mate-me-por-favor
Director: Jake Mahaffy | 98 min | English
Playing from 11th to 16th September 2015
Set in the distinctive world of storefront churches, and based on actual events, Free in Deed depicts one man’s attempts to perform a miracle. When a single mother brings her young boy to church for healing, this lonely pentecostal minister is forced to confront the seemingly incurable illness of the child… and his own demons as well. The more he prays, the more things seem to spiral out of his control.
Book here: https://home.festivalscope.com/film/free-in-deed