London-based Chilean-Indian director Shalini Adnani’s debut feature “Our Share of Sand,” about a 12-year-old girl named Maya who returns to rural India to reconnect with her estranged father, is among standout entries in the upcoming Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week.
The section, dedicated to first works from around the world, also comprises two titles from Colombia: the fiction-documentary hybrid “The End of Times,” a political piece co-directed by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas that uses artificial intelligence and explores colonialism and capitalism in Colombian history, and Sebastián Múnera’s drama “Meteorite,” about plans to build an amusement parkon the grounds of the former estate of drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Italy also features prominently in the lineup, with Paris-based Tommaso Usberti’s “Before the War,” about a young man named Guido raised within a Northern Italian racist milieu who falls in love with a Kosovar immigrant named Sonia, ensconced in a competition slot.
Also from Italy is the section’s out-of-competition opener, existential noir “Giaffa the Great” directed by Marco Santi, while the closer — also out-of competition — is Italian rap musical “Rider,” co-directed by Roan Johnson and the local music producer known as Dade (Davide Pavanello). “Rider” follows a young food delivery driver who delivers a huge sushi order to a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Milan and is invited to stay for the evening.
