A feature film and two short films, presented in three different sections of the Festival: Andrea Benjamin Manenti CCS has no fewer than three works at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
Manenti is the cinematographer of Una storia, Anna Foglietta’s feature-film debut, selected for Orizzonti; Angelo Azzurro (My First Day of Summer) by Tommaso Acquarone, in competition in Orizzonti Corti; and Puca by Sara Scalera, selected by the Venice International Critics’ Week as part of its SIC@SIC programme dedicated to short films.
Born in 1991 and of Italian-Filipino heritage, Manenti trained at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Scuola Nazionale di Cinema, where he studied cinematography under Giuseppe Lanci. His presence at Venice 83 with three titles confirms the trajectory already established by a young career that has earned numerous accolades.
Among his most significant achievements is his cinematography for Alain Parroni’s Una sterminata domenica, which won the Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti section at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize, and was selected for the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival. In May 2026, Manenti also received a Special Mention for Best Fiction Short Film at the Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival in Szeged, a festival specifically dedicated to the art of cinematography, for Antonio La Camera’s Primo sangue. He is currently preparing his directorial debut.
‘Shooting the work of Anna, Sara and Tommaso was very important to me, and I’m truly grateful that they welcomed me into their creative visions and narrative worlds, each so different, intimate and personal. Finally being able to present these films in cinemas and share them with such a wide audience gives even greater meaning to all the work we put into them. A special thank you goes to my collaborators for this journey and for the wonderful experiences we are sharing in making films together.’ (Andrea Benjamin Manenti)
UNA STORIA
by Anna Foglietta
7 September, 7.30 pm – Sala Volpi – Press and Industry
7 September, 9.30 pm – Sala Casinò – Press and Industry
8 September, 4.00 pm – Sala Darsena – Public and all pass holders, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers
9 September, 2.30 pm – PalaBiennale – Public and all pass holders
Erika and Mauro lead a quiet life in the countryside, shaped by small gestures and familiar routines. When their daughter Irene leaves to study away from home, the house empties and the couple’s equilibrium begins to unravel. Erika, who has always found her place by caring for others, suddenly loses every point of reference. Mauro, who grew up with an authoritarian father, tries to fill the void but finds himself confronting a vulnerability he had never acknowledged. The resurfacing of old wounds and forgotten desires forces them both to truly look at one another and question whether they can transform themselves and their relationship.
The cast includes Alba Rohrwacher, Guido Caprino, Caterina Casini and Elio De Capitani. The screenplay is by Anna Foglietta, Tania Pedroni and Matteo Ferri; cinematography is by Andrea Benjamin Manenti CCS, editing by Riccardo Giannetti, production design by Roberto De Angelis and costumes by Mariano Tufano. The music is by Rodrigo D’Erasmo, while sound is by Alessandro Palmerini, Alessandro Bonfanti, Alessandro Quaglio and Federico Cabula.
The film is produced by HT Film, Indigo Film, Tenderstories and Blu One Lab, with Rai Cinema. Italian distribution is handled by BIM Distribuzione, with international sales by True Colours.
PUCA
by Sara Scalera
7 September, 9.00 am – Sala Perla – Press and Industry
8 September, 1.45 pm – Sala Perla – Public aged 14 and over and all pass holders, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers
9 September, 7.30 pm – Sala Corinto – Public aged 14 and over and all pass holders, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers
On an early-summer afternoon in the 1990s, while their parents are asleep, sisters Lotti and Malibù sneak out to go to a bar and meet the boy they are both in love with. Their younger sister, Puca, insists that they take her with them. As they pass the beach, the little girl claims to have seen a mermaid. When her two older sisters lose sight of her at the bar, the search for Puca becomes an unexpected passage towards the end of childhood.
The cast includes Annunziata Celeste Vadicamo, Elisa Rosaci, Ludovica Tassone, Giuseppe Musarella, Antonio Serranò, Emilia Mariana Buza, Tonino Proietto and Beatrice Stranges. The screenplay is by Sara Scalera and Antonio Romagnoli; cinematography by Andrea Benjamin Manenti CCS, editing by Livia Galtieri, production design by Stefano Mendeni and costumes by Aida Ghafouri. The music is by Bebawinigi and Los Locos, while sound is by Martina Scarpellini and Federico Tummolo.
The short film is produced by GM Production, Limbo Film, Hubris Pictures, Red Couch Pictures, Eidos Film and 8 Production, with the support of the Calabria Film Commission. Italian distribution is handled by Allegorie Distribution.
ANGELO AZZURRO (MY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER)
by Tommaso Acquarone
3 September, 2.30 pm – PalaBiennale – Public and pass holders
10 September, 11.30 am – Sala Giardino – Press and Industry
10 September, 5.00 pm – Sala Giardino – Public and all pass holders, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers
11 September, 9.00 am – Sala Astra 1 – Public and all pass holders
Over the course of a long summer day, on a beach squeezed between the railway and the sea, Alessandro confronts his own body, the bodies of those around him and the emergence of his first desires. The film explores the suspended space between childhood and adolescence, when attraction and bewilderment still come before the ability to put a name to what one feels.
The principal cast includes Thomas Di Federico, Pietro Paolo Marziani and Vida Tunguz. Written by Acquarone himself, the short film has cinematography by Andrea Benjamin Manenti CCS, editing by Massimo Da Re, production design by Andrea Bianchi and costumes by Maria Concetta Pennella. Sound is by Ammit Darimdur and Tommaso Barbaro, while make-up is by Laura Jole Poerio.
The film is produced by Fondazione Apulia Film Commission, Limbo Film, The Piranesi Experience and Waterclock. International sales are handled by Lights On.
