Creative Europe MEDIA at the 81st Venice International Film Festival

The 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival will take place from 28 August to 7 September, with the participation of 13 EU-supported films under the Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

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MEDIA-supported films

Among the list of audiovisual works featured at Venice International Film Festival, 13 have been supported by Creative Europe MEDIA programme in their development. Ten of these films are nominated for awards. Harvest by Athina Rachel Tsangari is nominated for the Golden Lion, while four other titles are shortlisted for the prestigious Orizzonti competition, honouring films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends.

The Awards under this section are for Orizzonti competition. The winners will be announced on Saturday 7 September during the closing ceremony.

• Quiet life (Apathy) by Alexandros Avranas (France, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Estonia, and Finland)
• Wishing on a star by Péter Kerekes (Italy, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic)
• Anul nou care n-a fost (The new year that never came) by Bogdan Mureşanu (Romania, and Serbia)
• Pooja, Sir by Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal, the United States, and Norway)

Additionally, in the 'Out of Competition' section, two documentaries will be showcased as non-fictions and one series will be featured in the fiction category.

• ISRAEL PALESTINA PÅ SVENSK TV 1958-1989 (Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989) by Göran Hugo Olsson (Sweden, Finland, Denmark)
• Pisni zemli, shcho povilno horyt'(Songs of slow burning earth) by Olha Zhurba (Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden)
• Familier som vores (EP. 1-7) (Families like ours) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Belgium, Norway, Germany)

Two works have been selected for the independent section 'Giornate degli Autori', formerly Venice Days, and now in its 21st edition - held in parallel to the festival. The winners will be announced on Friday 6 September during the awards ceremony.

• Alpha. by Jan-Willem van Ewijk (Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia)
• Boomerang by Shahab Fotouhi (Germany, Iran)

Other nominations include:

• Ceci est mon Coeur by Stéphane Hueber-Blies, Nicolas Blies in the Venice immersive category (Luxembourg, Canada, France)
• Peacockby Bernhard Wenger in the Critics' Week competition (Austria, Germany)
• Planete B by Aude Léa Rapin in Special events (France, Belgium)

European Commission participation

Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency, will attend the Venice Film Festival on 3 and 4 September, taking part in the following events:

• Panel discussion "Unseen Leaders - what do an Oscar winner, a NATO Secretary General, an EU Commissioner and visually impaired museum guides have in common? Behind-the-scenes leadership."
• Opening remarks at Ukrainian Day curated by Cinema State Agency of Ukraine and NGO UkrKinoFest
• Première of the movie "Songs of slow Burning Earth" by Olha Zhurba
• "Foreigners everywhere" exhibition

Director-General Roberto Viola will also be present at this year's festival, in the context of the regular dialogue with the European audiovisual industry.

About Creative Europe MEDIA

MEDIA Sub-programme of Creative Europe is designed to support European film and other audiovisual industries. It provides funding for the development, promotion and distribution of European works within Europe and beyond. It invests in the training of producers, film distributors, directors, and screenwriters to help them adapt to new technologies. Each year, MEDIA supports around 2,000 European projects including films, TV series, video games, training programmes, cinemas and much more.

Related topics

Media Audiovisual & Media Services Audiovisual and media content distribution MEDIA programme