10/11/2022 - Screenings of 5 Ukrainian films and an encounter with various Ukrainian filmmakers will characterise this year’s edition of the Europe-focused festival

The 23rd edition of the Lecce European Film Festival – unspooling Saturday 12 – Saturday 19 November at the Multisala Massimo cinema – is set to pay tribute to Ukrainian film, showcasing 5 films and hosting an encounter with various filmmakers, alongside the director of Molodist - the Kiev International Film Festival, Andriy Khalpakhchi. This year’s star of European Cinema will be French director Claire Denis, whose most interesting films will be celebrated by the festival, including one of her last two films, Both Sides of the Blade [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which scooped the Silver Bear for Best Direction at the 2022 Berlinale (hitting Italian cinemas via Europictures on 17 November). Sergio Rubini, meanwhile, will be the star of Italian cinema, forming the focus of a tribute including a retrospective of the films which best represent his career, an encounter with the public, and the awarding of the Golden Olive for Lifetime Achievement.

As always, ten titles will be screened in national premieres within the Feature Film Competition, as selected by Alberto La Monica and Luigi La Monica, and assessed by a jury presided over by Pascal Diot and further composed of Andriy Khalpakhchi, Klaus Eder, Enrico Vannucci and Marie-Pierre Vallé. Together, they will award the Cristina Soldano Golden Olive Prize for Best Film, the Special Jury Prize, and prizes for Best Photography and Best Screenplay. Likewise up for grabs within the Competition are the FIPRESCI Prize, the Cineuropa Prize, the National Union of Italian Film Journalists’ Prize for Best European Actor and the Audience Award.

The movies in question are Lithuania’s The 9th Step [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Irma Pužauskaitė
film profile] by Irma Pužauskaitė; A Ballad [+see also:
film review
interview: Aida Begic
film profile] by Bosnia’s Aida Begić, who’s tackling a romantic comedy for the very first time; A Brixton Tale [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darragh Carey, Bertrand Des…
film profile], which is the first feature film by the young duo composed of Irish director Darragh Carey and Quebec’s Bertrand Desrochers; A Room of My Own [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze and Ta…
film profile] by Georgia’s Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze, whose protagonists Takia Mumladze and Mariam Khundadze won an award in Karlovy Vary this year; Germany’s Axiom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jöns Jönsson
film profile] by Jöns Jönsson; How Is Katia? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Tynkevych
film profile] by Ukrainian director Christina Tynkevych; Latvia’s Neon Spring [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Matīss Kaža; Croatia’s Once We Were Good For You [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Branko Schmidt; You Will Not Have My Hate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kilian Riedhof
film profile] by Kilian Riedhof, which is a co-production between Germany, France and Belgium about the terrorist attack on the Bataclan in Paris; and, last but not least, Zuhal [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Turkish director Nazlı Elif Durlu.

Set to be screened in the Italian documentaries section are Come una vera coppia by Christian Angeli, Il fiore in bocca by Andrea Settembrini and Valeria Civardi, Iazz Bann by Lorenzo Zitoli and Salvatore Magrone, Libere di vivere by Antonio Silvestre, Milva by Nico Capogna, Peso morto by Francesco Del Grosso, and Qui non c’è niente di speciale by Davide Crudetti.

Among the various Special Events hosted Out of Competition, Lecce is scheduled to offer up a world premiere of its opening film The Era of Giants [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Davide Barletti and Lorenzo Conte, which was shot in Apulia; the comedy The Christmas Show [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Alberto Ferrari, which is hitting Italian cinemas on 17 November, courtesy of Viva Productions; and La prima regola by Massimiliano D’Epiro, which will be released on 1 December, distributed by Notorious Pictures. Meanwhile, twenty-six short films have been selected for the Puglia Show, the traditional competition for young Apulian directors under the age of 35. And, as usual, in collaboration with the European Film Academy, the short films nominated for the EFA’s European Best Short Film Awards will also be presented at the event. Last but not least, the three authors who are finalists for this year’s Mario Verdone Award are Laura Samani for Small Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Samani
film profile], Giulia Louise Steigerwalt for Settembre [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis for The Tale of King Crab [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessio Rigo de Righi and M…
film profile].

(Translated from Italian)