The films “Kora”, by Cláudia Varejão, and “Sempre”, by Luciana Fina, will be shown in the “Days of the Authors” program at the Venice International Film Festival, which begins on August 28 in Italy.
Both are part of the official selection of “Authors’ Days” (“Giornate degli Autori”), announced today, which is a parallel and independent section of the Venice festival.
“Kora” is a short film about refugee women living in Portugal, based on the photographs the protagonists bring with them. Venice describes the film as “a manifesto against war and discrimination against women”.
“At a time when they have to leave their countries because of an armed conflict, there is little we can bring, but one of them is photographs. The film tells the story of these women through these portraits,” the director explained to Lusa in 2022, when she was preparing the film.
Produced by Terratreme Filmes, “Kora” succeeds the feature film “Lobo e Cão”, which Cláudia Varejão premiered in 2022, in Venice, having received the award for best director precisely in the “Authors’ Days” program.
In the same program will be “Sempre”, a montage documentary that Italian artist Luciana Fina made from the archives of the Cinemateca Portuguesa.
The film follows an invitation from the Cinemateca to the author to mark the 50th anniversary of the April 1974 Revolution and resulted in the creation of an art installation, “Sempre – The word, the dream and poetry in the street”, which was on show until June in Lisbon.
“Sempre” addresses the repression of the Estado Novo dictatorship, the ongoing revolutionary process that followed, decolonization, among other issues, but also “reproposes the gestures of great filmmakers who took action together with artists, composers and radio directors”, who recorded the events, reads the synopsis.
Luciana Fina, who has collaborated with the Cinemateca Portuguesa for several years, has developed visual work for cinemas, galleries and museums.
Her most recent work includes the films “In Medias Res” (2014), “Terceiro Andar” (2016) and “Questo è il piano” (2020).
The Venice Film Festival will take place from August 28 to September 7, opening with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”.
The jury will be chaired by French actress Isabelle Huppert and the festival will award the Golden Lion for her career to American actress Sigourney Weaver.
It was previously announced that the film market, for projects in the process of finalizing financing, will include “Projeto Global”, a film and series by Ivo M. Ferreira, produced by O Som e a Fúria, a production company that will also present the co-production “Jealous White men”, by Ivan Granovsky, with Argentina, Italy, Brazil and Germany.
Also looking for funding will be “Last night I conquered the city of Thebes”, by Gabriel Azorín, a Spanish production with Portugal’s Primeira Idade.
The Venice film festival program will be announced on July 23.
