COMPETITIONS, 1945 RETROSPECTIVE, AND PANELS
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW, curated by Marco Dalla Gassa, Francesco D’Asero, Giulio Tosi, and Federico Zecca, from the Consulta Universitaria del Cinema “Festival ed eventi cinematografici,” in collaboration with the Trieste Film Festival, AFIC-Associazione Festival Italiani di Cinema, SNCCI-Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani, Università Ca’ Foscari, Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro,” and Università degli Studi di Trieste-Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici. Unmissable events for journalists and enthusiasts, since their foundation film festivals have included and promoted the work of critics within their spaces and programmes. The main objective of the study day Festivals and Critics: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is to investigate the multifaceted forms of this relationship, stimulating reflections on the past, present and future of this virtuous connection, and to deepen the interdisciplinary encounter of different perspectives, focusing the analyses of single case studies, unpublished sources and original research methodologies.
Free entry. Event in Italian.
At 11:30 AM, in SALA BOBI BAZLEN, VICTOR PEREZ will hold his masterclass with Massimiliano Maltoni, curated by the Casa del Cinema in Trieste. The renowned photographer and cinematographer, as well as visual effects expert, will meet the TSFF Academy film students and the general public. The event will be held in English – free entry.
From Tuesday, January 21st, the locations of TSFF36 expand to include other venues across the city.
TEATRO MIELA
At 2:00 PM, the “1945 Retrospective. Is the War Over?” continues. The first chapter of the day is TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE with GIORNI DI GLORIA by Giuseppe De Santis, Mario Serandrei, Marcello Pagliero, and Luchino Visconti (Days of Glory, Italy, 1945, b-w., 72’, Italian o.v.). Made in 1945, Days of Glory is the first documentary to cover the events that took place in Italy between September 1943 and April 1945. The film alternates sequences showing life, war and sabotage actions by partisans, with other more specific episodes such as the tragic moment of the exhumation and identification of the victims of the Fosse Ardeatine massacre, the trial of Pietro Caruso and the lynching of Donato Carretta, and the execution of Caruso, Koch and Scarpato. The documentary ends with images of the liberation of Milan, the death of Mussolini and the beginning of Italy’s post-war reconstruction.
The film will be followed by THE TRIAL OF WAR CRIMINALS FROM THE FORMER ANTONESCU GOVERNMENT AND THE EXECUTION OF THOSE SENTENCED TO DEATH by Ovidiu Gologan (Romania, 1946, b-w., 2’30’’,no dialogue o.v.). On 1 June 1946, cinematographer Ovidiu Gologan filmed the moment of the execution of Marshal Ion Antonescu, the Conducător of Romania, and three of his main collaborators: Professor Mihai Antonescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Gheorghe Alexianu, Governor of Transnistria, and General Constantin Z. Vasiliu, commander of the Romanian Gendarmerie. The material was shot on 35 mm film and immediately confiscated by the Securitate.
Finally, FRANK MEZI NÁMI by František Sádek, Miroslav Hubáček (Frank Among Us, Czechoslovakia, 1946, b-w., 12’, Czech o.v.) will be screened. A biographical film depicting the life of Karl Hermann Frank, Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. The film highlights his alliance with Hitler and features documents that reveal his brutal rule over Czechoslovakia, (including the Lidice massacre). Toward the end, Frank is shown in a courtroom, and a blurred scene depicts the execution of his death sentence by hanging.
At 4:00 PM, we will present the FIELDS chapter with MAJDANEK. CMENTARZYSKO EUROPY by Aleksander Ford (Majdanek. Europe’s Cemetery, Poland, 1944, b-w., 24’, Polish o.v.) in collaboration with Filmoteka Narodowa (Warsaw). One of the first Polish documentaries made after the Second World War in July 1944, exploring the history of the Nazi concentration camp at Majdanek, Poland. The footage gathered by Polish and Soviet cameramen immediately after the liberation of the death camp presents a shocking portrayal of Nazi atrocities and mass executions. The film also includes fragments of testimonies from the perpetrators who failed to escape Lublin, as well as testimonies from survivors.
The film will be followed by JASENOVAC by Gustav Gavrin, Kosta Hlavaty (Yugoslavia, 1945, b-w., 15’, Serbo-Croatian o.v.). Jasenovac is the first film produced in post-war Yugoslavia and documents the atrocities committed at the Jasenovac concentration camp, the largest in Croatia during World War II, infamously known for its extreme brutality. The documentary includes footage released by the Ustasha to counter the rumours of atrocities committed: scenes of prisoners at work and other images intended to support the alleged “humane treatment” of detainees. This material, discovered after the camp’s liberation, was later used alongside footage filmed shortly after the camp was freed. To follow, it will be DALEKÁ CESTA by Alfréd Radok (Distant Journey, Czechoslovakia, 1948, b-w., 104’, Czech o.v.). Combining fiction and documentary, the film tells the story of doctor Hana who, with the arrival of the Nazis, is dismissed from the clinic where she works because she is Jewish. As a Jew living in a mixed marriage with her colleague Bureš, she manages to escape deportation to the Terezín ghetto. But in the end, even Hana has to face the same fate as her family.
World War II, in the Eastern Front. At night a burning plane crashes on the ruins of an occupied city. The surviving Soviet pilots, among whom are some who are seriously injured, hide from the Nazi persecution. To help them comes a very young Varya, who hides them in her attic. Having lost her mother and sister, she works as a cleaner in the German headquarters. Unbeknownst to the watchmen, she provides the pilots with food and medicine. She is happy about the fact that now there is someone to talk to and someone to help. But the Nazis manage to find out Varya’s secret. Having had time to warn the pilots, Varya sacrifices her life in order to save them.
Finally, POLAND FOREVER by Wincenty Bejtman (USA, 1941, b-w., 18’, English o.v.) in collaboration with Filmoteka Narodowa (Warsaw). Poland Forever is a documentary that became a symbol of Polish resistance during World War II. Produced by the Polish Information Center in New York, it chronicles Poland’s suffering under German occupation and highlights the resilience of its people. Inspired by the American newsreel series The March of Time, the film depicts pre-war Poland and calls for international support. Despite technical challenges, it was widely praised, becoming a key tool in Poland’s wartime cultural diplomacy and reaching millions in the US.
POLITEAMA ROSSETTI
At 2:00 PM, we have the first screening of the OFF THE BEATEN… SCREENS section, featuring FARUK di Aslı Özge (DE – TR – F, 2024, col., 97’). Faruk, a man in his 90s, becomes the central character of his daughter’s film about the impending demolition of his block of flats in Istanbul. Gradually, reality and fiction intertwine and the line between the two starts to blur. Shot in authentic locations and based on real characters and events, the film offers a unique and
intimate look at the life of an elderly man in the bustling city of Istanbul, exploring not only the implications of gentrification but also the complexities of a father daughter relationship. Faruk had its premiere at the Berlinale 2024, in the “Panorama” section, where it won the FIPRESCI Award.
At 4:00 PM, the feature film competition presents KYUKA BEFORE SUMMER’S END by Kostis Charamountanis (GR – MK, 2024, col., 105’). Summertime. A family of three, a single father, Babis, and his twin children on the verge of adulthood, Konstantinos and Elsa, sail to the island of Poros on the family boat for their holidays. In the midst of swimming, sunbathing, and making new friends, Konstantinos and Elsa meet, unbeknownst to them, their birth mother, Anna, who abandoned them when they were babies. This encounter will stir up long-held feelings of resentment in Babis, resulting in a sun kissed, bittersweet journey of growth for everyone involved. Opening film of the ACID selection at the latest Cannes Film Festival
At 6:00 PM, we move on to the first selection of the short film competition, titled COMPILATION 1.
At 8:00 PM, the feature film competition presents MORD by Adam Martinec (Our Lovely Pig Slaughter, CZ – SK, 2024, col., 85’). The annual pig slaughter at the grandparents’ house, in Osoblaha, is a cherished family tradition. However, this year promises to be unlike any other. Grandpa grapples with the difficult decision to end this tradition, worrying his widowed son-in-law Karel, who finds comfort from loneliness in this event. As the day unfolds, the resilience of family bonds is tested, revealing the strength and fragility of relationships forged in tradition and love. Mord premiered in competition at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2024, winning a Special Mention.
At 10:00 PM, we will have a special screening of the out-of-competition feature film THE INVASION by Sergei Loznitsa (NL – F – USA, 2024, col., 145’). 10 years after the release of his epic film Maidan, Sergei Loznitsa resumes his Ukrainian chronicles by documenting the country’s struggle against the Russian invasion. Shot over a 2-year period, the film portrays the life of the civilian population all over Ukraine. The Invasion presents a unique and ultimate statement of Ukrainian resilience in the face of barbaric invasion. In the second part of his Ukrainian diptych, Loznitsa paints a monumental canvas of a nation determined to defend its right to exist. The film was presented in 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival, in the “Special Screenings” section.
CINEMA AMBASCIATORI
At 10:30 AM, the out-of-competition documentary MY FATHER’S DIARIES by Ado Hasanović (IT – FR, 2024, col., 93’) will be screened. It is August 1993 when Bekir Hasanović exchanges a gold coin for the camera he will use to film everyday life in Srebrenica from then on. The footage he records during the days of the war with his improvised crew—composed of Ben, John & Boys—gives life to the unexpected portrait of a lost population, but still maintains a solid connection with reality without giving up its typical humour. Ado, Bekir’s son, starts from these images and from the pages of the diaries kept by his father to reconstruct the image of his father and to understand, together with his mother Fatima, how he survived the Death March and the Srebrenica genocide.
At 2:00 PM, the documentary competition presents KO ĆE POKUCATI NA VRATA MOG DOMA by Maja Novaković (At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking, SRB – BiH, 2024, col., 84’). In the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Emin, in his twilight years, toils alongside his faithful horse. Through bitter cold and harsh conditions, he seeks solace and warmth in nature’s embrace and finds fleeting comfort in sharing his burdens with his only true confidant.
At 4:00 PM, the first film competing for the Corso Salani Award is IL CANTO DI ALINA by Ilaria Braccialini and Federica Oriente (Alina’s Voice, IT, 2024, col., 73’). Johana is one of the many migrants on the Balkan route who is trying her luck in reaching Europe. During the journey, she meets another Moldovan girl, a little older than her, Alina. Once they reach Italy, their fate is to fall into the hands of the prostitution racket, victims of a brutal system of slavery. When Alina suddenly dies, Johana is alone, with nothing left to lose. She takes advantage of an opportunity that presents itself to rebel and flees in desperation through the city, running into Lorenzo, a middle-aged taxi driver from Friuli, whom she kidnaps by pointing a gun at him and forcing him to drive towards Austria to cross the border and disappear.
At 6:00 PM, the documentary competition continues with ROK Z ŻYCIA KRAJU by Tomasz Wolski (A Year in the Life of a Country, PL, 2024, col. and b-w., 85’). Poland, 1981. A country on the verge of an unravelling revolution, with communist authorities willing to do whatever it takes to suppress it. General Wojciech Jaruzelski announces a historic decision on national television: Martial Law is imposed in communist Poland on December 13. The next day, tanks take to the streets. Soldiers control the cities, enforce a curfew, and the army pacifies the striking workers. State-controlled journalists try to discredit the opposition led by Lech Wałęsa, and Solidarity members are imprisoned. Propaganda is in full swing. Rationing of goods, queueing for toilet paper, and other ridiculous attempts to kill the spirit of freedom and independence begin. Shall Poland cry over its fate or laugh about the farcical theatre in which it is the main protagonist? A found footage film about a breakthrough moment in Polish and world history
At 8:00 PM, in the documentary competition, we have TATA by Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc (RO – DE – NL, 2024, col., 83’). After years of estrangement, Lina, a Moldovan journalist, receives a video message from her father, a migrant worker in Italy, showing bruises on his arms. Equipping him with a hidden camera so that he may find justice, Lina finds herself on a parallel journey — uncovering a pattern of domestic violence that has plagued her family for generations. Filmed across Italy, Moldova, and Romania, Tata is a raw portrait of a family locked in a relentless struggle against toxic masculinity. It tells the story of a daughter’s quest to break the cycle for herself, the next generation, and even for the ones who hurt her.
At 10:00 PM, the documentary competition of the day ends with TURPINĀJUMS. PIEAUGŠANA by Ivars Seleckis, Armands Začs (To Be Continued. Teenhood, LV, 2024, col., 98’). Seven years after Turpinājums, Ivars Seleckis and Armands Začs return to visit the film’s protagonists, who are now 14 years old. As the children grow up, their lives increasingly reflect the cross-section of society, highlighting ever-greater differences between city and countryside, between the wealthy and the less fortunate, and between the confident and the insecure. This long-term cinematic observation captures the world through the eyes of teenagers and observes how the situation in the country and the world shapes these children’s destinies.
