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New York Film Academy Student Film Showcase at Venice Film Festival

August 3, 2016 The New York Film Academy will be presenting a student showcase screening event at this year’s 73rd Venice Film Festival.

Since its inception in 1932, the Venice FF has become the most prestigious international film festival in the world. This year’s specific festival will be dedicated to the recently deceased Michael Cimino and Abbas Kiarostami, and will include new films — from Natalie Portman, Terrence Malick, Ryan Gosling, Tom Ford, Amy Adams, and Derek Cianfrance — competing for the event’s prestigious Golden Lion award, joining two lifetime Achievement Golden Lions for Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jerzy Skolimowski.

The five NYFA student films that were selected include fiction, documentary and animation. The showcase will be introduced on September 1st by NYFA alumnus Giorgio Pasotti ("The Great Beauty," "After Midnight," "Salty Air") at the brand-new Venice Production Bridge platform at the Spazio Incontri of Venice's Excelsior Hotel.

The NYFA showcase will include the following student films:

"The Life Of Janka," by Luis Henriquez Viloria (fiction)

After the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, thousands of kids went to the streets and became targets for organizations of child traffickers. These kids were traded like livestock. "Life of Janka" is a fictional story of two brothers who go through such an experience.

"Fumo," by Sean Miyakawa (fiction)

Set in the mid-1920s, a frustrated sound composer works as one of the first sound engineers in the history of cinema, and happens to be madly in love with the main actress of the production. On the day he decides to finally declare his love to her, he finds out about an affair going on between her and the director. The discovery drives him crazy.

"Alive & Kicking: The Soccer Grannies of South Africa," by Lara-Ann de Wet (documentary)

In Limpopo, South Africa, the village grannies lace up their soccer boots and start kicking their way down the field — and through centuries of oppressive taboos. They play serious soccer and then break into the laughter and traditional song that help fuel their singular struggle for decent lives and a league of their own.

"The Perfumist," by Yukari Akaba, Shannon Lee, Daniela Lobo Dias, Sandra Rivero Ortiz (animation)

"The Perfumist" is a dramatic story highlighting the battle of Machine-Equipped Man against Cosmic Nature. Seeking the perfect scent for his perfume, Benedict Malville runs into the consequences of trampling on sacred, natural ground.

"The Right Way," by Elena Zobak Alekperov & Flavia Groba Bandeira (animation)

A short animated story of the day in a mom’s life of raising her young child. While the child tests the mother’s patience, there is a final moment of relief after the mom reveals her secret oasis within the confines of the home.