‘We Are Not Venice’ to vie at Realtime filmfest

The 2021 edition of the Realtime International Film Festival (RTF) in Nigeria has been set to screen Iranian short documentary ‘We Are Not Venice’.

Directed by Komeil Soheili, the doc investigates the cultural problems that tourism may cause. It looks at all the changes that visitors can bring about to locals’ values and priorities.

The film shows a village in Iran, where the construction of any hotels has been forbidden. Local residents of the area believe that having hotels may modify their culture, so they would rather host the tourists in their homes to keep their tradition of hospitality alive. However, the younger generation is open to all changes for their financial benefit.

‘We Are Not Venice’ was screened at a number of global events, including the International Ethnovideographyc Festival in Spain, the Galichnik Film Festival in Macedonia, the International Ethnographic film festival in Ukraine, and the Toyo University Tourism Short Film Festival in Japan, where it won the first Jury Award.

The RTF aims “to build a truly International, all-inclusive and remotely accessible Film Festival”. It champions an artistic baseline where equity and openness are enhanced among creative artists, filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

The 2021 edition of the event is slated for July 20-21.

Read more:

Toyo Short filmfest honors ‘We Are Not Venice’

Nigeria Realtime Festival honors Iranian titles

MG/AG