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Minerva Pictures at the 81st Venice International Film Festival!

28 August 2024

Minerva Pictures arrives at the 81st Venice International Film Festival with a rich calendar of events and screenings! This year, we’re bringing four titles to the Lido that reflect our approach to independent cinema in various forms. Additionally, The Film Club returns as the Official Partner of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC).

The event kicks off on August 30 at 11:55 PM with the world premiere of Cloud, the new film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, marking the Japanese master’s return to Venice after his Silver Lion win in 2020 for Wife of a Spy, both distributed by Minerva Pictures.
On September 4 at 4:00 PM, we’ll present Twst – Things We Said Today, a new documentary by Andrei Ujică, screened out of competition, which explores the history and cultural impact of The Beatles through the experiences of various fans and musicians.

On September 6 at 2:00 PM, we’ll showcase the 4K restoration of Lina Wertmüller‘s Swept Away (1974), competing in the Venice Classics section. The restoration was carried out by the Cineteca di Bologna Foundation in collaboration with Minerva Pictures.

Closing the festival on September 7 at 9:00 PM is the highly anticipated The American Garden, Pupi Avati’s latest gothic thriller, adapted from his novel of the same name, presented as the closing event of the Venice Film Festival. The cast includes Filippo Scotti, previously awarded for The Hand of God, and the acclaimed British actress Rita Tushingham. A production by Minerva Pictures and Duea Film in collaboration with Rai Cinema.

For the 2024 Venetian Nights, the annual showcase dedicated to Italian cinema within the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori, on August 31, we’ll screen High Stakes – A Night in the Ward, a black comedy by Giovanni Dota featuring Carlo Buccirosso and Lino Musella. Minerva Pictures handles its international sales.

Finally, for the third consecutive year, The Film Club will be the Official Partner of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC). and will present The Film Club Audience Award.

Stay tuned on our social channels for all the updates, curiosities, and behind-the-scenes action directly from the Lido!

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Minerva Pictures wins the Locarno Heritage Restoration Contest with Liliana Cavani’s “The Cannibals””!

9 August 2024

We are thrilled to announce that Minerva Pictures has won the prestigious Locarno Heritage Restoration Contest for Liliana Cavani’s film The Cannibals (1970), awarded by a jury of three international experts during the Locarno Pro Awards ceremony. Thanks to a collaboration with the Cinegrell film laboratory in Zurich and Berlin, the complete restoration of the film will begin immediately after the festival and will premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in 2025.

Our commitment to the conservation and enhancement of cinematic heritage continues with participation in Heritage Monday at the Locarno Film Festival – Locarno Pro. Tomorrow, August 12, we will present an exclusive promo reel featuring a selection of our 4K restorations completed in the past year and a preview of works undergoing restoration for the coming year.

Among the films we will present are Swept Away (1974) and The Seduction of Mimi (1972) by Lina Wertmüller, La visita (1963) by Antonio Pietrangeli, Conversation Piece (1974) by Luchino Visconti, Hamam, the Turkish Bath (1997) by Ferzan Özpetek, The Scent of the Night (1998) by Claudio Caligari, and Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976) by Ruggero Deodato.

#staytuned for updates on where to discover our restorations!

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Minerva Pictures at the 81st Venice International Film Festival!

24 July 2024

This year, Minerva Pictures returns to the 81st Venice International Film Festival with three films and confirms The Film Club as the Official Partner of the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica!

The American Garden, a new Gothic genre film directed by Pupi Avati and based on his novel of the same name, will be featured as a closing event outside of competition! A production by Minerva Pictures and Duea Film with Rai Cinema. The cast includes Filippo Scotti, winner of the Mastroianni Award at the 2021 Venice Film Festival for Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, alongside the multi-award-winning British actress Rita Tushingham.

Swept Away (1974), written and directed by Lina Wertmüller, will be presented in competition in a restored 4K version in the Venice Classics section. The restoration was done by the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Minerva Pictures.

Cloud, the return to Venice for Kiyoshi Kurosawa following his 2020 Silver Lion for Best Director win for Wife of a Spy. The film will have its world premiere in Venice out of competition. Distributed by Minerva Pictures, which also brought the Japanese master’s previous work to Italy.

Additionally, for the third consecutive year, The Film Club returns to the Lido as the Official Partner of the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica and will present the audience award, The Film Club Audience Award, at the end of the event. Join us at the Casa della Critica from August 28 to September 7!

#staytuned for updates, news, curiosities, and behind-the-scenes content directly from the Lido!

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“Swept Away”: Lina Wertmüller’s masterpiece presented in a restored version at Venice 81!

5 July 2024

Swept Away (1974), written and directed by Lina Wertmüller, will be presented in competition in a stunning 4K restored version in the Venice Classics section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. The film, listed by The Guardian among the top 25 European films of all time, has been restored by the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Minerva Pictures.

During a Mediterranean cruise, the snobbish and classist Raffaella Pavone Lanzetti (Mariangela Melato) is shipwrecked with the communist sailor Gennarino Carunchio (Giancarlo Giannini). The deserted island they land on becomes the stage for a forced cohabitation that exposes all their differences.

Featuring music by Piero Piccioni, awarded the David di Donatello in 1975.

See you soon at the Lido!