Amir Azizi’s Inside Amir and UK feature Bearcave were among the winners of the 2025 edition of Giornate degli Autori, the independent sidebar of
Amir Azizi’s Inside Amir and UK feature Bearcave were among the winners of the 2025 edition of Giornate degli Autori, the independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival.
Iranian filmmaker Azizi received the €20,000 cash director’s award.
Inside Amir follows a youthful man in Tehran on the verge of emigrating to join his girlfriend Tara in Italy; but facing up to his decision in his final days in Iran.
Written and directed by Azizi, the film is produced by Azizi, Elham Azizi and Ali Azizi for Fog Films.
“It reminds us of how daily routines, movements, and conversations with friends provide both security and freedom,” said a statement from the jury, headed by Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud.
UK feature Bearcave won the Europa Cinemas Label, which consists of a financial contribution towards distribution and promotion, as well as a guarantee that the film will be shown in Europa Cinemas network venues.
Bearcave is directed by Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna B. Papadakis for Greece’s Pame Ligo Collective in co-production with the UK’s Pucci Productions.
Producers are Emily Sky Hickin, Thanasis Michalopoulos, Arsinoi Pilou, Ishan Sanjay Deshpande, Dinopoulos and Papadakis.
The film is set in a Greek mountain village, where a woman challenges her best friend to embark on an adventure to find a mystical bear cave.
The Europa Cinemas Label jury described it as “both a clash and a fusion of the old and new. The film is constructed a little like a thriller, but there is also more than a touch of the supernatural.”
Inside Amir and Bearcave are both looking for sales representation.
Two films scored exactly 77.4% on the audience vote for the People’s Choice Award – Vladlena Sandu’s Memory and Cyril Aris’s A Sad and Beautiful World.
The Venice Film Festival official selection awards ceremony takes place tomorrow evening (Saturday, September 5) at 7pm CEST.
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