Amid sweltering temperatures, this year’s Venice Film Festival paraded some high-wattage A-List stars on the red carpet and saw Pedro Almodóvar take the Golden Lion for The Room Next Door, the first English-language movie of his distinguished career. But away from the main events, there was plenty to discover in this 81^st edition of the festival. 

Among the faces familiar to ASFF attendees, Asif Kapadia was back with his new film 2073. The director of Amy and Senna, who presented a masterclass at ASFF 2021, returned with a drama-documentary unpacking the state of our world. Examining climate change, the rise of fascism and tech billionaires like Elon Musk, it also starred Samantha Morton in a future-set sequence, as she survives hand-to-mouth. A sobering watch, it left many journalists shaken.

Looking further afield, there were some fine debut works. Closing the Venice Days sidebar, Isabella Torre’s Basileia proved to be startling first feature. Inspired by her 2018 short Nymphs, Danish actor Elliot Crosset Hove (Godland) plays an archaeologist in Southern Italy’s Aspromonte mountains, whose treasure hunting unleashes a number of mythical sirens. Beautifully staged, and highly atmospheric, this film left much open to interpretation. 

In Critics’ Week, Parisian-based British filmmaker Jethro Massey made his debut with the smartly rendered Paul and Paulette Take a Bath, telling the story of two prospective lovers (Marie Benati, Jérémie Galiana) who decided to morbidly reenact famous deaths from history – including Marie Antoinette’s trip to the guillotine. 

In the Orizzonti category, which showcased 19 features and 14 short films, the Lion of the Future ‘Luigi De Laurentiis’ award for a debut film went to Sarah Friedland for Familiar Touch. Following the director’s series of shorts, including 2022’s Trust Exercises, this feature stars Kathleen Chalfant as Ruth, an octogenarian whose son Steven is helping her check into an LA assisted living facility. The film tenderly deals with issues of ageing, memory and identity. 

Taking Best Film in the Orizzonti strand was another feature debut, The New Year That Never Came. Directed by Bogdan Mureşanu, this Romanian absurdist tragicomedy set across a single day, before the Revolution of 1989, features an ensemble cast including Adrian Văncică and Nicoleta Hâncu. Also bestowed the FIPRESCI Award for the best film in the Orizzonti and parallel sections, it was a perfect way for Mureşanu to announce their filmmaking intent. 

Words: James Mottram

Stills:

1. Basileia (2024), dir. Isabella Torre
2. Familiar Touch (2024), dir. Sarah Friedland
3. Paul and Paulette Take a Bath (2024), dir. Jethro Massey