Renowned Iranian Artist, Photographer and Filmmaker Shirin Neshat to be Awarded

The presence of renowned artist, photographer and filmmaker from Iran, Shirin Neshat, is a highlight of the upcoming Giornate degli Autori 2023. She will be on hand on September 5th to receive the award “Le vie dell’immagine”, assigned for the first time, by NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti) and Cinematografo, in collaboration with Giornate degli Autori. The aim of the award is to spotlight a creative personality whose career in the visual arts goes above and beyond the traditional dictates of artistic genres, and Shirin Neshat epitomizes what it stands for, as reflected in the consistency of her goals and achievements celebrated the world over.

The artist will also be the guest speaker at a special talk with students at the CSC – National Film School and NABA, scheduled for September 4th at the Casa degli Autori (Sala Laguna). It is just one of the masterclasses on the Giornate degli Autori program this year.

“Venice was where some of the most significant turning points in my career took place,” writes Shirin Neshat. “In 1999, I received the Golden Lion for my video installation Turbulent at the Biennale; ten years later, in 2009, I was handed the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival for my first feature film, Women Without Men. I discovered Giornate degli Autori in 2017, thanks to Looking for Oum Kulthum. In 2023, I’m now returning to the place where it all started – the place where I first attracted the world’s attention, and for my art and my cinema alike. I’m very honored to be welcomed as a woman and an artist who works at the intersection of cinema and the visual arts, refusing to have to choose between one and the other and embracing experimentation instead, breaking down artistic borders. I am grateful to Giorgio Gosetti, NABA, and Cinematografo for this fantastic award, which is not just for me, but for the next generation of artists and filmmakers who dare to take risks and experiment; it is they who will take auteur cinema to a higher level. Above all, they will not be intimidated by the power of the mainstream art and film industries. I dedicate this award to the young students I’ll be meeting in Venice.”

“This year,” declares Giornate’s General Delegate Giorgio Gosetti, “our choice of a courageous independent voice of Persian culture in all its magnificence takes on a special meaning, for which we also wish to thank Shirin, who will be back in Venice after six years. We thank Cinematografo, the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, and the Fondazione CSC for the other activities on the program, and for sharing this extraordinary opportunity with us at Giornate.”