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READY FOR THE FIFTH EDITION

Promoted by ANAC (the National Association of Cinematographic Authors) and the authors of API (Independent Authors and Producers), le Giornate degli Autori - Venice Days were created in 2004 as an independent sidebar of the International Film Festival of Venice, having in mind the syle of the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes and Panorama in Berlin.
When the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs was founded at the Cannes Film Festival in 1968, the French authors, in direct contention with the Festival, intended to create an independent space that would differ profoundly in style and idealism from the event at that time. Over the years, the SRF (Société des Réalisateurs Français) has supported and nurtured this independent space, allowing it to grow into what it is today, one of the most significant events in international quality cinema, and transforming it, little by little, into an opportunity for discovery, research and innovation.
There's the same type of spirit at the Berlin Festival with the creation of the Internationales Forum des Jungen Films to give a voice to those talents and the type of cinema and language that was rarely given a chance to speak out in the official sections. In this case too, this parallel event has grown with the Festival over time, while still maintaining a completely independent and recognizable character all of its own.
In order to accomplish the project, the “Venice Days” cultural association was founded. It is led by president Roberto Barzanti, vice presidents Emidio Greco and Francesco Maselli, with the following representatives from the two associations: Giuliana Gamba, Giorgio Gosetti, Valerio Jalongo, Andrea Purgatori, Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, Massimo Sani and Maurizio Sciarra.
The creation of such a space at the Venice Film Festival means to allow the Italian authors to recover the experience of direct commitment, offering different, alternative routes parallel to the official section. An accent has been placed on the idea of an “author’s free space”, the circulation of ideas, people and expressive innovations, which are an inherent part of the title "Venice Days".
For the fifth edition the task of managing Venice Days has been entrusted again to the general delegate Fabio Ferzetti. The fourth edition was in fact a great success, thanks to both the nature of the formula and the unanimous agreement on the selection of films, later confirmed at all the major festivals, from Toronto to Palm Springs, from Chicago to Tallin.
The event's main structure will stay the same, with 12 films, plus tributes and special events. The section's artistic aim is also unchanged, celebrating creativity, talent and renewed languages against the homologation of taste. And the authors' associations are still involved to create a free space for meeting and debate, also as part of a great international festival.
The European films selected will be competing for the "Label Europa Cinemas" Award for the promotion of cinema in Europe, established by the European réseau network of quality traders, with support from the EU MEDIA program. The prize, set up in 2003, provides economic contributions to distribute and sustain films in cinemas for a considerable period. The winner of the Label receives also a prize from Technicolor consisting in a minimum of five copies of the film printed for free for the Italian distribution.
Any first work selected for the Venice Days program will also compete for the "Luigi De Laurentiis" Award, along with other debut films in the festival's other sections.
It is worthing to note that, further to the high quality expressed in the Venice Days selection, the De Laurentiis Award 2005, 2006 and 2007 went to three movies selected by Venice Days (13 – Tzàmeti , Khadak and La Zona).