Acclaimed documentaries from Cannes head to the Biografilm Festival
- Amy, Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans and The Brand New Testament will screen weeks after their Cannes premieres, joined by the Silver Bear winner The Pearl Button and The Russian Woodpecker
From 5-15 June, Bologna will see the return of the Biografilm Festival | International Celebration of Lives, which showcases the best of biographical and documentary films. Once again for its 11th edition, the festival is reasserting its international angle, offering a selection of titles hailing from the world’s most important film festivals.
A few weeks after its successful world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Biografilm is bringing Amy – The Girl Behind the Name [+see also:
trailer
film profile] to Bologna. The eagerly awaited film about Amy Winehouse, by BAFTA Award-winning director Asif Kapadia, will be screened at an exclusive event reserved for Biografilm Followers, ahead of its theatrical release on 15, 16 and 17 September, courtesy of Nexo Digital and Good Films. Other titles from Cannes include Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans by Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna, about the incredible production of the movie Le Mans, and The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile] by Jaco Van Dormael, the Belgian surrealist genius.
Meanwhile, landing in Bologna straight from the Sundance Film Festival is Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, the much-lauded documentary on the Church of Scientology, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, which will have the honour of bringing the gathering to a close. It will be presented at Biografilm as a European premiere and will then be distributed in Italian theatres by Lucky Red from 25 June.
Other movies from Sundance that feature on the programme at Biografilm are The Visit [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the documentary by Michael Madsen, and the European co-production The Russian Woodpecker [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Chad Gracia, a disturbing investigation into the ins and outs of the Chernobyl disaster, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the US festival. Meanwhile, among the films being presented as Italian premieres following the Berlin Film Festival, we have the Silver Bear winner The Pearl Button [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], another European co-production, directed by Chilean maestro Patricio Guzman, who will be a guest at Biografilm; Iraqi Odyssey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samir
film profile] by Samir; and Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile] by Malgorzata Szumowska, an exquisite, cutting movie that talks about the body, the mind, and how pain and loss are able to link them in unexpected ways.
Finally, Dal ritorno by Giovanni Cioni, from the Cinéma du Réel selection, will also be presented at Biografilm. This is one of the two films (the other being The Troublemaker by Roberto Solinas) that are representing Italy in the International Competition (for the first time).
(Translated from Italian)
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