Venice Critics̵7; Week has announced the line-up for its 38th edition, which will run from August 30 to September 9 alongside the Venice Film Festival.
Seven competition titles include UK director Moeen Hussain’s feature film debut sky peels About a lonely man working the night shift at a motorway service station, with little human interaction or interaction. Upon hearing that his estranged father has died, Adam finds himself juxtaposing a complex image of a man he never really knew and uncovers details of his life that he struggles to understand.
Taiwanese actor Lee Hong-chi will also unveil his directorial debut love is a gun About a petty criminal whose efforts to live a quiet life after his release from prison are interrupted by the reappearance of his former boss, his debt-ridden mother and an old friend.
The contest titles will compete for the €5,000 Grand Prize and the €3,000 Audience Award. The selection committee is headed by Delegate General Beatrice Fiorentino, consisting of Enrico Azzano, Chiara Borroni, Ilaria Fiole and Federico Pedroni.
Venice Critics Week has featured debut films from directors who have achieved A-list festival status in its 39 editions.
Past selections have included the premiere of Olivier Assayas’s Desordre (1986), Mike Leigh’s High Hopes (1988), Bruce Weber’s Let’s Get Lost (1988), Pablo Trapero’s (1988), mundo grua (1999), by Abdellatif Kechiche la forte à voltaire (2000 and ala edin slim last of us (2016).
2023 line-up:
Competition
about last year (Italy)
Dir. Dunja Lavecchia, Beatrice Surano, Morena Terranova
A lot (UK)
Dir. Luna Carmoon
life ain’t no competition but i’m winning (Germany)
Dir. julia fuhr mann
love is a gun (Hong Kong, China)
Dir. lee hong-chi
malcaridas (Chile, Germany)
tana gilbert
sky peels (UK)
Dir. moeen hussain
voordalk (France)
Dir. Adrian Beau
out of competition
god is a woman (France, Switzerland, Panama)
Dir. andres perot
Cruel (France, Morocco) – closing film
Dir. Sebastian Wanisek
special screening (in association with the Venice International Film Festival and Giornate degli Autori)
Passione Critica (Italy)
Dirs. Simone Isola, Franco Montini, Patrizia Pistagnisi