VENICE, Sept 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The Golden Lion, the top prize at the
Venice film festival that wraps up Saturday, will be awarded to one film
among 18 contenders from across the globe.
Here are the films in the running:
– ‘Le Sorelle Macaluso’ (The Macaluso Sisters): Italy –
The story of five sisters in Palermo seen at various points in their lives
and culminating in a family funeral in Emma Dante’s film.
– ‘The World to Come’: US –
In Mona Fastwold’s upstate 19th century New York, Abigail (Katherine
Waterston) tends a farm with her husband (Casey Affleck) but falls in love
with a female neighbour.
– ‘Nuevo Orden’ (New Order): Mexico/France –
A dystopian film from Michel Franco depicts social and economic disparity
in Mexico, starting with a well-to-do family wedding and ending in a coup
d’etat.
– ‘Amants’ (Lovers): France –
Nicole Garcia’s film tells the story of Lisa and Simon, lovers who paths
cross again three years after Simon fled Paris.
– ‘Laila in Haifa’: Israel/France –
Five women’s stories interweave in the course of one night at a Haifa club.
As one of the few spaces where Israelis and Palestinians can mingle, director
Amos Gitai turns the venue itself into a protagonist.
– ‘Dorogie Tovarischi!’ (Dear Comrades!): Russia –
Based on the true story of a 1962 labour strike in Novocherkassk, USSR, in
which 26 protesters were shot by Soviet troops. Andrei Konchalosky’s film
retells events kept secret until the 1990s.
– ‘Spy No Tsuma’ (Wife of a Spy): Japan –
Against the backdrop of a looming World War II and the invasion of
Manchuria, a wife’s love is tested and her Kobe merchant husband struggles
with loyalty and betrayal in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film.
– ‘Khorshid’ (Sun Children): Iran –
Ali and his friends work small jobs and hustle to support their families.
Majid Majidi’s film explores what happens when Ali learns of an underground
treasure.
– ‘Pieces of a Woman’: Canada/Hungary –
Martha and Sean (Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf) are a Boston couple whose
baby dies after a home birth. Director Kornel Mundruczo shows how grieving
Martha navigates her relationships with her husband and mother (Ellen
Burstyn), while facing the midwife (Molly Parker) in court.
– ‘Miss Marx’: Italy/Belgium –
Susanna Nicchiarelli tells the story of Eleanor, the youngest daughter of
Karl Marx, who battled for the rights of workers and women while dealing with
an unhappy love affair.
– ‘Padrenostro’: Italy –
The life of 10-year-old Valerio is turned upside down when he and his
mother witness a terrorist attack against his father in this autobiographical
film from director Claudio Noce.
– ‘Notturno’: Italy/France/Germany – Shot over three years on the borders
of Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, Gianfranco Rosi’s documentary follows
people trying to survive despite the violence around them.
– ‘Sniegu Juz Nigby Nie Bedzie’ (Never Gonna Snow Again): Poland/Germany –
A mysterious masseur from Ukraine, Zhenia becomes a guru for a spiritually
barren gated community in this film by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal
Englert.
– ‘The Disciple’: India –
Director Chaitanya Tamhane tells the story of Sharad, chasing his dream of
becoming an Indian classical vocalist in the sprawling metropolis of Mumbai.
– ‘Und Morgen die Ganze Welt’ (And Tomorrow the Entire World):
Germany/France –
In Julia von Heinz’s film, Luisa and her anti-fascist group question how
far they’re willing to go to battle hatred after a wave of racist attacks in
Germany.
– ‘Quo vadis, Aida?’: Bosnia-Herzegovina –
Based on true events in 1995 Srebrenica. Aida is a translator working for
United Nations peacekeepers. When the Bosnian Serb army invades, she and
thousands of others seek safety in the Dutch UN camp in Jasmila Zbanic’s
film.
– ‘Nomadland’: US –
Director Chloe Zhao tells the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), who sets
off from her impoverished Nevada town in her van to scratch out a living as a
modern-day nomad.
– ‘In Between Dying’: Azerbaijan/US –
Davud is a restless young man on a journey of self-discovery through Hilal
Baydarov’s film, keeping ahead of men pursuing him. When his journey ends at
home, Davud finds the love he’s seeking — but is it too late?