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 [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], 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.

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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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Irma Pužauskaitė
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entrevista: Aida Begic
ficha de la película] by Bosnia’s Aida Begić, who’s tackling a romantic comedy for the very first time; A Brixton Tale [+lee también:
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entrevista: Darragh Carey, Bertrand De…
ficha de la película], 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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze y Tak…
ficha de la película] by Georgia’s Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze, whose protagonists Takia Mumladze and Mariam Khundadze won an award in Karlovy Vary this year; Germany’s Axiom [+lee también:
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entrevista: Jöns Jönsson
ficha de la película] by Jöns Jönsson; How Is Katia? [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christina Tynkevych
ficha de la película] by Ukrainian director Christina Tynkevych; Latvia’s Neon Spring [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Matīss Kaža; Croatia’s Once We Were Good For You [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Branko Schmidt; You Will Not Have My Hate [+lee también:
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entrevista: Kilian Riedhof
ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Davide Barletti and Lorenzo Conte, which was shot in Apulia; the comedy The Christmas Show [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Laura Samani
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ficha de la película], and Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis for The Tale of King Crab [+lee también:
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entrevista: Alessio Rigo de Righi y Ma…
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