Debut film and immersive experiences in Venice

The world's oldest film festival in Venice launches its 77th edition on 2 September with a programme that includes four Danish projects.

Anders Ølholm and Frederik Louis Hviid's 'Shorta' willl be world premiering in the Venice International Film Critics' Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica), running in parallel to the festival's main section.

The film is one of seven debut films in competition for the following prizes: the Grand Prize, the Verona Film Club Award for the most innovative film, and a prize for Best Technical Contribution .

The Critics' Week films are also eligible for the Lion of the Future – "Luigi De Laurentiis" Venice Award for a Debut Film selected among all first features in the competitive sections across the Venice Film Festival.

'Shorta, an action drama about a routine patrol that goes terribly wrong for the two officers Jens and Mike, features Jacob Hauberg Lohmann, Simon Sears and the young debuting talent Tarek Zayat. Toolbox Film is producing, and Paris-based Charades handles international sales. The domestic premiere is set for 8 October.

Read more:

Debut film Shorta selected for Venice Film Critics' Week

Venice Film Festival's competition for virtual reality, Venice VR Expanded, will be showcasing three immersive works from Denmark:

'A Taste of Hunger – VR' by Christoffer Boe and David Adler produced by Zentropa and Makropol, 'Hush' by Vibeke Bryld and producers Final Cut for Real, and finally 'The Hangman at Home' by Michelle and Uri Kranot and Late Love Production.

The three projects, along with the remaining works of the Venice VR Expanded competition, are available for viewing throughout the whole festival period at fourteen cultural institutions around the world – including the Copenhagen art gallery Nikolaj Kunsthal.

The works can also be experienced online, with the right VR equipment, via a special festival platform. For this, an accreditation is necessary. Find a guide on the festival website.

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Three Danish VR projects in Venice competition

The following prizes are handed out in the VR competition: a Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Immersive Work, an award for Best VR Immersive User Experience and the award for Best VR Immersive Story.

'Shorta' as well as the three VR works are supported by the Danish Film Institute. The Venice Film Festival kicks off from 2 to 12 September. See more on the festival website.

Shorta

Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid, 2020

The exact details of what took place while Talib Ben Hassi (19) was in police custody remain unclear. Police officers, Jens and Mike, are on routine patrol in Svalegården’s ghetto when news of Talib’s death comes in over the radio, igniting uncontrollable, pent-up rage in the ghetto’s youth, who lust for revenge. Suddenly, the two officers find themselves fair game and must fight tooth and claw to find a way out.

A Taste of Hunger – VR

Christoffer Boe, David Adler, 2021

A kaleidoscopic journey through a woman's marriage where the audience decides which moments they wish to enter. Using VR headsets, the audience is surrounded by fragments of a life lived, crystallising into crucial and ever-changing memories. The VR project is a companion piece to Boe's feature film 'A Taste of Hunger' (2021), about Maggie and Carsten who have gambled everything to win a Michelin star for their restaurant, while trying to keep their family together.

Hush

Vibeke Bryld, 2020

The 10-minute sensory VR project invites you to tune into an old human frequency from when man and nature were – for better and for worse – connected. The experience lets you be the subject of a myth about a man who is seduced by the call of the merpeople. You will experience a call from the sea inviting you to let go of the world around you.

The Hangman at Home

Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot, 2020

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?” Inspired by the iconic Carl Sandburg poem (1922), The Hangman at Home explores themes of acknowledgement and participation. The film invites you into five interwoven stories featuring people caught in a pivotal moment. We watch their intimate deeds and they gaze back, transforming us from spectators to witnesses.