The Settimana Internazionale della Critica is an independent and parallel section organised by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) during the 80th Venice International Film Festival (30 August – 9 September 2023). The programme includes a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special events out of competition, all presented as world premieres. The selection is curated by the General Delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week Beatrice Fiorentino together with the members of the selection committee: Enrico Azzano, Chiara Borroni, Ilaria Feole and Federico Pedroni.

The seven feature films in competition at the 38th Settimana Internazionale della Critica are eligible for:

IWONDERFULL Grand Prize Settimana Internazionale della Critica
conferred by an international jury to the best film in competition and consisting of 5,000 euro.

The Film Club Audience Award
voted for by the audience and consisting of 3,000 euro.

Furthermore, the films in competition are eligible for the following prizes:

Verona Film Club Award
awarded to the most innovative film in the section and bestowed by a jury composed by under-35 members of the Verona Film Club.

Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for Best Technical Contribution
sponsored by the Hotel Saturnia in Venice and conferred by a committee of film critics, members of the SNCCI.

Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film
The seven films in competition at the Settimana Internazionale della Critica, together with all the debut feature films presented in the various competitive sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent and Parallel Sections) are eligible for the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. An International Jury of no more than 5 personalities from the world of cinema and culture from various countries, including one producer, will award a prize of 100,000 US dollars, donated by Filmauro, to be divided equally between the director and the producer. No joint award is allowed.

The seventh edition of SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica) offers a selection of seven short films in competition by Italian directors who have not yet completed a full-length film, and two special events out of competition. The short-films programme is part of the 38th Venice Settimana Internazionale della Critica and is curated by the General Delegate Beatrice Fiorentino with the members of the Selection Committee: Enrico Azzano, Chiara Borroni, Ilaria Feole and Federico Pedroni. The programme was born thanks to the synergy between the National Union of Italian Film Critics’ (SNCCI) and the Cinecittà, as an initiative supporting the development of new Italian cinema and promoting young directors.

The seven short films in competition, all screened in world premiere, are eligible for the following prizes to be given by a jury composed of film professionals.

Award for Best Short Film
sponsored by Frame by Frame and consisting in post-production services for the next short film by the winning director.

Best Director Award
sponsored by Stadion Video and consisting of English subtitling for the next short film by the winning director.

Best Technical Contribution Award
sponsored by Fondazione Fare Cinema and consisting in an invitation to the 2024 edition of the Advanced Training Course in Film Directing “Fare Cinema”.

After premiering in Venice, the short films presented at SIC@SIC will be promoted at an international level by the Department for International Promotion of Contemporary Cinema of the Cinecittà through a series of initiatives and festivals, such as the Mostra de Cinema Italià de Barcelona (Short Films Competition section) programmed in Spain in December 2023. Furthermore, the short films will be made available for industry professionals through the online platforms Festival Scope Pro and Italian Short Film Video Library – a tool for the promotion of Italian short films realised by the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio (Italian Short Film Center) in collaboration with Cinecittà. Last but not least, at the end of November 2023 they will attend the TSFM – Talents and Short Film Market, organised by the Italian Short Film Centre.