Venice Film Festival: The opening films of Orizzonti and Orizzonti Extra

The two opening films of the Orizzonti and Orizzonti Extra competition sections have now been finalised for the 81st Venice International Film Festival (28 August - 7 September 2024) of La Biennale di Venezia, directed by Alberto Barbera.

Nonostante, by and with Valerio Mastandrea, will be the opening film of the Orizzonti competition section on Wednesday August 28th in Sala Darsena.

September, 5 by Tim Fehlbaum, will be the opening film of the Orizzonti Extra competition section on Thursday August 29th in Sala Giardino.

Regarding Nonostante, Valerio Mastandrea, at his second film as a director following Ride (2018), declared: “Opening the Festival means opening the film to the eyes and hearts of the public. I take it as an opportunity to release a story that has been mine alone for a long time and which, I hope, will become everyone's."

Nonostante, starring also Dolores Fonzi, Lino Musella, Giorgio Montanini, Justin Alexandre Korovkin, Barbara Ronchi, Luca Lionello, and with Laura Morante, will premiere on Wednesday August 28th in Sala Darsena, in the afternoon of the Festival’s opening day, as the opening film of the Orizzonti competition section.

Producers are Viola Prestieri and Valeria Golino for HT Film, Francesco Tatò and Oscar Glioti for Damocle, Moreno Zani and Malcom Pagani for Tenderstories with Rai Cinema. BiM Distribuzione is the Italian distribution. Tóti Gudnason composed the original score.

Synopsis

A man spends peacefully his days in hospital without too many worries. He has been hospitalized for a while but that condition seems like the best way to live his life, safe from everything and everyone, without responsibilities and problems of any kind. It feels really good in there and even if some of his ward companions feel trapped, for them he can also feel free like nowhere else. That precious routine runs smoothly until a new person is admitted to the same ward. She is a restless, angry companion, she accepts nothing of that condition, especially the unwritten rules. She is not willing to wait, she wants to leave that place better or even worse. She wants to live as she should or die, as happens to those who end up in there. He is overwhelmed by that fury, first trying to defend himself and then accepting something incomprehensible. That encounter will help him accept that if you choose to truly face your heart and your emotions, there is no possible repair.

Valerio Mastandrea – biographical notes

He is a director, actor and producer, born in Rome in 1972. He has worked with the most important Italian directors (Marco Bellocchio, Valeria Golino, Ettore Scola, Carlo Mazzacurati) winning numerous David di Donatello. His directorial debut Ride (2018) was presented at the Torino Film Festival. The film earned him a nomination at the David di Donatello awards for best debut director and won the Nastro d'Argento for best debut film. He produced Claudio Caligari's latest film Non essere cattivo (Don't Be Bad, 2015). He recently starred in C’è ancora domani (There's Still Tomorrow) by Paola Cortellesi (2023), one of the five highest-grossing Italian films ever.

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September 5, directed by Tim Fehlbaum, starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, is the opening film of Orizzonti Extra competition section.

September 5 is an entirely German production by BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion and Projected Picture Works, in co-production with Constantin Film and ERF Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion. Republic Pictures holds global rights to the film excluding GSA and is representing worldwide sales. Producers on the film are Philipp Trauer, Thomas Wöbke, Tim Fehlbaum, Sean Penn, John Ira Palmer, John Wildermuth. The film was shot on sound stage and original locations in Munich in 2023. Writers are Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum.

Synopsis

September 5 unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, September 5 provides a powerful new perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.

At the heart of the story is Geoff, a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge. Together with Marianne, a German interpreter, Geoff unexpectedly takes the helm of the live coverage. As narratives shift, time ticks away, and conflicting rumors spread, with the hostages' lives hanging in the balance, Geoff grapples with tough decisions while confronting his own moral compass. How do you cover a situation like this if what the perpetrators want is the spotlight you give?