Celebration of Lives Award
Kaouther Ben Hania
There is an exact moment when cinema becomes an act of justice. For Kaouther Ben Hania that moment is when the camera stops simply observing reality and finally begins to question it. A bold, visionary, and deeply human director, Ben Hania has turned cinema into a frontier where pain becomes memory and silence turns into a universal cry.
Celebrating Kaouther Ben Hania today means recognizing the power of what she calls “the lens of courage”. She does not use the detached gaze of strategy or geopolitics. Her gaze is a female gaze that focuses instead onthe humanity of the body, on daily resistance, and on life pulsing even among the ruins. Her cinema does not look for spectacle, but for the truth of feelings and the dignity of the story.
We honor a film maker who has made her signature out of aesthetic and ethical courage. Bologna welcomes her back not only as a great author but as a necessary guide to navigate the darkness of our present — reminding us that as long as there is someone ready to tell stories with such strength, the hope for a shared humanity will never be lost.
Through works that question memory and the responsibility of seeing, Biografilm pays tribute to a unique and courageous filmmaker, an essential voice within the contemporary international cinematic landscape.
Kaouther Ben Hania’s cinema shakes consciences and asserts a mission of resistance and commitment through a gaze that masterfully merges ethics and aesthetics.Massimo Benvegnù and Chiara Liberti - Artistic Direction of Biografilm
Her Cinema at the Festival
A selection of screenings and events dedicated to the work of Kaouther Ben Hania
Milena Vukotic
Charisma, elegance, and talent have graced both arthouse cinema and the small screen throughout a brilliant career spanning more than sixty years, earning her a special place in the hearts of audiences. These qualities define Milena Vukotic, an actress of rare skill and extraordinary elegance, a muse to great masters of cinema and a beloved figure in Italian popular culture—first as Pina Fantozzi and later as Grandma Enrica in Un medico in famiglia.
Since her big-screen debut in 1961 in Il sicario by Damiano Damiani, she has left an indelible mark on film history, collaborating with renowned Italian and international directors including Luciano Salce, Dino Risi, Alessandro Blasetti, Federico Fellini, Ettore Scola, Lina Wertmüller, Franco Zeffirelli, Ferzan Özpetek, Luis Buñuel, Peter Greenaway, and Andrei Tarkovsky. She has been acclaimed by critics and admired by audiences alike in auteur cinema, television productions, and on the stage.
Biografilm celebrates this great and prolific artist, whose inexhaustible energy and refined artistic journey tell us so much about our time and our identity.
A versatile and original performer, capable of perfect comic timing and extraordinary dramatic depth.
Her Cinema at the Festival
A selection of screenings and events dedicated to the work of Milena Vukotic
Bonnie Timmermann
There are people who simply glance at the faces of passersby, and then there is Bonnie Timmermann, who can read destiny in a face. If the cinema of the last forty years feels the way it does, if certain icons have become part of our visual DNA, it’s because in a New York audition room, in Hollywood, or on the streets of any city, Bonnie saw a spark where others saw only a stranger.
Today, we celebrate the eye that knew how to look beyond, giving us so much great cinema. Because every time we are moved by an unforgettable performance in one of the many films she worked on—from Trading Places to Black Hawk Down, Bull Durham to Heat—in a way, we are looking through the eyes of Bonnie Timmermann.
Receiving this recognition today is more than just an award for her career; it is an act of justice for a woman who has always worked behind the scenes to let others shine. Bonnie has protected her actresses and actors, guiding them with almost motherly dedication, fighting for those “difficult” faces in which she—and she alone—saw something immense.Massimo Benvegnù and Chiara Liberti - Artistic Direction of Biografilm
Her Cinema at the Festival
A selection of screenings and events dedicated to the work of Bonnie Timmermann
