VERA
O.V. in Italian with English and Spanish subtitles
Platinum hair, cowboy hat, a thousand surgeries and indeterminate age: Vera is a second-rate celebrity in Italy thanks to being the daughter of Giuliano Gemma, mythical star of the spaghetti western. Covi and Frimmel take this real person and insert her, with her unexpected complexity and warmth, into a story about the weight of beauty, the edges of goodness and the self-destructive patterns of human relationships, which begins when Vera's chauffeur inadvertently runs over a child from a poor neighborhood. Vera ends up getting involved with the boy, his father and grandmother, in an emotional exchange not free of risks and always on the edge of pure interest. Award for Best Actress and Best Directors in the Orizzonti section at Venice.
Direction: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
Script: Tizza Covi
Cinematography: Rainer Frimmel
Editing: Tizza Covi
Sound: Tizza Covi
Cast: Vera Gemma, Daniel De Palma, Sebastian Dascalu, Annamaria Ciancamerla, Walter Saabel, Asia Argento, Gennaro Lillio, Giuliana Gemma, Alessandra Di Sanzo
Production: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel - Vento Films
Production company: Vento Film
Distributor: Austrian Films
World sales: Be For Films
Tizza Covi (Bolzano, 1971) and Rainner Frimmer (Vienna, 1971) have been associated with cinema, theatre and photography since 1996. In 2002, they founded their own independent production company, Vento Film, with which they have presented seven films, including documentaries such as Babooska (2005), awarded at the Berlinale, as well as several fiction features: La Pivellina (2009) was recognised with the Europa Cinemas Label at Cannes and screened at the SEFF in 2014; The Shine of Day (2012) with the Silver Leopard for Best Actor at Locarno and the award for Best Austrian Film at the Diagonale; and Mister Universo (2016) won five awards at Locarno. In 2020, Notes from the Underworld received a special mention for Best Documentary at the Berlinale, and this year, the filmmakers presented Vera, awarded for Best Actress and Direction at Orizzonti in Venice.
