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| Sala Web will screen films through the festival |
The Orizzonti Competition line-up includes established filmmakers such as Merzak Allouache (The Rooftops, The Repentant), and Jake Mahaffy (Wellness), along with first-feature directors, including Anita Rocha Da Silveira, Hada Mogar and Yorgos Zois. Other highlights are the new films by Gabriel Mascaro (August Winds) and Vetri Maaran, who will present the first film in Tamil to screen in Venice.
This edition of Sala Web will feature titles from 20 countries, including Brazil, Greece, Israel, Mexico, China, USA and France.
Strong women dealing with politics in Iran (Wednesday, May 9), a teenager dealing with a famous new drug in Algeria (Madame Courage) and a tale through the history of the mafia in Italy (Italilan Gangsters) are some of the stories to discover at this edition.
Sala Web will also screen the three debut features - all coming-of-age stories - produced and developed by the Biennale College: the Polish experimental Baby Bump; Japanese drama Blanka, shot in the Philippines and The Fits, a dance film based in Cincinnati.
The digital tickets are limited to 400 per film. The box office for the full line-up is open on the home page of Sala Web (home.festivalscope.com). All tickets are priced at 4€ and there is a Festival Pass (10€ for 5 films) available. Each purchase will allow to screen the film once during a 5 day period beginning at 9pm EST on the day of the film’s world premiere.
The screenings will be hosted on a secure site operated by Festival Scope on behalf of the festival.
The full list of Sala Web films is below (synopses provided by Sala Web):
ORIZZONTI FILMS
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| 'I didn't want to subvert the gender roles or invert them but to dilate them' |
Brazil, Uruguay, Netherlands; 101’ Portuguese
Iremar works at the Vaquejadas, a rodeo in the Northeast of Brazil, where two men on horseback try to 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 North-east 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.
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| Italian Gangsters |
Italy; 87’, Italian 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.
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| Tharlo |
China; 120', Chinese
Tharlo is based on a short story written by the director himself. Filmed in the Tibetan region of Qinghai, the film centres on a young shepherd, a simple man whose greatest ambition is “to serve the people”. But his arrival in the city and his encounter with a girl will soon shatter his illusions. Tibetan actor, poet and musician Shidé Nyima has been cast in the leading role.
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| Pecore In Erba |
Italy; 86’, Italian, German, English, Chinese
July 2006. Leonardo Zuliani has vanished. The news from Trastevere in Rome turns into a real national emergency, while a huge throng of followers gathers around the young activist’s house. His mother is beside herself with grief and the entire neighbourhood is paralysed. He’s on every TV channel and the authorities all express their solidarity with the family. Many can’t believe it’s true; they prefer to think it’s just one of his stunts. A genius in conveying his ideas, successful cartoonist, visionary fashion designer, cult author, human rights activist: but who is Leonardo deep down? With the help of leading experts and celebrities, the film traces his life, at last casting light on a key figure of our times.
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| Wednesday, May 9 |
Iran; 102’, Farsi
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…
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| Madame Courage |
Algeria, France, United Arab Emirates, Qatar; 90’, Arabic
Omar, an unstable and lonely teenager, lives in a slum in the suburbs of Mostaganem, Algeria. He is addicted to a famous psychotropic drug, nicknamed “Madame Courage”: Artane tablets, very popular among young Algerians for the euphoric sense of invincibility they inspire. 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.
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| Interruption |
Greece, France, Croatia; 109', Greek
A post-modern theatre adaptation of a classic Greek tragedy takes place in a central theatre 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 apologise 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.
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| Why Hast Thou Foresaken Me? |
Israel, France; 94’, Hebrew, Arabic
Muhammad, a rejected boy from the fringe of society, floats through the streets of a filthy city, exposed and desolated, until he meets Gurevich; a lone rover who rides his motorcycle into the bowels of the city, through the shadows of the back alleys, sharpening the knives of butcher shops and gourmet restaurants. Stubborn and tenacious, the boy forces his way under the man’s wing. Within this hypnotic urban hell, what starts as an unstable and hesitant apprenticeship evolves into a struggle for self-control.
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| Mate-me Por Favor |
Brazil, Argentina; 101’, Portuguese
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.
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| Tempete |
France; 89’, French
Dom, 36, is a sailor on board the fishing boat Petit Gael II from the port of Les Sables d'Olonne, a small town in western France. He is used to leaving for the open sea for at least three weeks in a row. Despite his absences, his teenage children have decided to live with him since the divorce of the parents. But when his daughter Mailys gets pregnant, Dom understands that he will have to choose between the sea and his family.
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| Interrogation |
A group of immigrants are detained by the local state police, tortured and forced to admit to a crime they have no knowledge of. When all hope seems to be lost, a policeman from their hometown speaks on their behalf at the court hearing, setting them free. The policeman asks for a return favour and the boys oblige, oblivious to the ill fate that awaits them. As they unwittingly bear witness to a political treason, the system seeks to silence them - at any cost. But Pandi is determined to be heard.
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| David Harewood as Abe in Free In Deed. Jake Mahaffy: 'I grew up in a religious pentecostal-style environment and then fully de-converted so I’m familiar with the worldview and the language' |
USA, New Zealand; 98’, English
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.
BIENNALE COLLEGE
Baby Bump, by Kuba Czekaj – From September 3 
Poland; 85’, Polish, English Eleven-year-old Mickey House is no longer a child. But who is he? He doesn’t know. He’s friendless. He doesn’t understand his mother. He hates what’s happening to his body. Reality and imagination come together in a toxic mix. Events escalate to extremes… at home and at school. Mickey has to find the strength within him to put a stop to what’s begun. Where will his encounter with his own maturing body take him? Growing up… not for kids.
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| The Fits |
USA; 71’, English 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 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.vCaught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.
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| Blanka |
Blanka, 11, 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-year-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.
We're partnering with Sala Web during this year's festival, look out for a screening pass competition, coming soon. You can follow Sala Web on Twitter @venice_salaweb.
