The Venice International Film Festival is in full swing. With projects of all kinds debuting to audiences in attendance, many who aren’t in attendance though are able to sink their teeth into new trailers flowing out of the festival for upcoming films that premiered. 

While many different types of stories showcased in Venice, some of the most discussed are those that deal in real world situations. Many of them take inspiration from events going on in the world, and use unique perspectives to express the issues. Among these includes Vanilla, from director Mayra Hermosillo. 

Told from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl as her family attempts to rise above their debt, Hollywood Reporter states that the film focuses on a journey of womanhood. Especially with each member of the family being a woman, the plot explores the characters trying to defy what’s expected of them, with Hermosillo layering in her own life experiences of living in a home that wouldn’t be considered average for the time. 

“Rather than criticize tradition, Vanilla asks what it means to belong, and how we judge lives different from our own,” she said. 

Similarly, Waking Hours bases itself in realistic scenarios, just on a different side of the world. Directed by the duo of Federico Cammarata and Filippo Foscarini, the film follows a group of Afghan smugglers stationed around the border of Europe, waiting for those who seek the opportunity of fleeing from danger. 

Cammarata and Foscarini were both able to extrapolate their approach to crafting the film. “Waking Hours emerges from the depths of the forest, not as a backdrop but as a living body — a place of disorientation, transformation, and fragile refuge,” they said, according to Hollywood Reporter. 

Vanilla will make its debut on the 3rd of September, as part of the Venice Days lineup, while Waking Hours premieres a day later in the Venice Critics’ Week competition. 

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