“I’m thrilled and excited to be entrusted with the honorable assignment of presiding over this year’s jury of Giornate degli Autori. GdA is close to my heart, with its passionate and selective programming Award”
The Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival with Dreams (part of his now famous trilogy whose first chapter, Sex, is currently shown in Italian theaters) will be the President of the Jury of Giornate degli Autori, the independent section within the Venice Film Festival promoted by the Italian associations of filmmakers ANAC and 100autori.
This is a happy “homecoming” after Beware of Children, which had its world premiere in competition at the Giornate degli Autori in 2019, marked Haugerud’s international debut, later crowned with seven Amanda Awards, the highest honor for Nordic cinema.
“I’m thrilled and excited to be entrusted with the honorable assignment of presiding over this year’s jury of Giornate degli Autori,” says Haugerud, “Giornate is close to my heart, with its passionate and selective programming, and the fact that it’s cherry-picking only 10 films with special care for innovation, originality and independence. Art, literature and cinema are more important than ever, they represent an opportunity for both intellectual and political reflection and– if you’re lucky – an expansion of the senses. In that way cinema has the ability to make changes, both on an individual level and for society as a whole. With that in mind, it’s with great anticipation that I’m looking forward to this year’s program.”
“We are truly delighted to announce Dag Johan Haugerud as our Jury president,” says Artistic Director Gaia Furrer, “Welcoming him back to Giornate six years after the memorable premiere of Beware of Children, we marvel at the evolution of a filmmaker whose Sex, Love, Dreams trilogy received recognition by winning a Golden Bear Award at the Berlinale. His cinema is timeless and yet profoundly of our time, rooted in a deep philosophical interest for everything that makes us human – our aspirations, vulnerability and shortcomings. Haugerud’s distinctive style is one of tender complexity, which is the best answer to mending the frayed edges of the age we live in.”
The selection of the international competition of Giornate degli Autori will be announced, along with our entire Venetian program (August 27 to September 6, 2025) and the other members of the Jury chaired by Haugerud, at the official press conference in late July. On September 5, the GdA Director’s Award for the best film will be presented by the President of the Jury to the author of the film winning the 22nd edition.
“With the appointment of Haugerud, the President of the Giornate degli Autori Francesco Ranieri Martinotti and I”, says Delegate General, Giorgio Gosetti, “are happy to start a new cycle consisting in the unparalleled space of freedom and creative vitality that in recent years has characterized the uniqueness of our independent section within the Venice Film Festival. His confirmation and loyalty to our idea of cinema clearly show how the Giornate have now become a shared reality, where filmmakers prove themselves, reaffirm their identities, and rediscover the joy of coming together around a common passion”.
Dag Johan Haugerud trained to be a librarian and then graduated with a degree in film studies from Stockholm University. He also studied Dramaturgy at the University of Oslo and Creative Writing at Telemark University College. He has worked as a journalist and dramatist for various dance and theater companies. He has also published four novels, Noe med natur (1999), Den som er veldig sterk, må også være veldig snill (2002), Hva jeg betyr (2011) and Enkle atonale stykker for barn (2016). He made his debut as a film director with the short 16 Living Clichés in 1998. I Belong (2012), Haugerud’s feature film debut, was awarded the Norwegian Critics’ Prize and four Norwegian Amanda awards. In 2019 he directed Barn, screened at Giornate degli Autori. Between 2024 and 2025, he released the trilogy: Sex (Berlinale, Panorama section), Love (in competition at Venice International Film Festival) and Dreams (Golden Bear at Berlinale).
2025 Drømmer (Dreams)
2024 Kjærlighet (Love)
2024 Sex
2020 Lyset fra sjokoladefabrikken (The Light from the Chocolate Factory)
2019 Barn (Beware of Children)
2014 Det er meg du vil ha (I’m the One You Want, medium-length)
2012 Som du ser meg (I Belong)
2006 Trøbbel (Trouble, short)
2005 Thomas Hylland Eriksen og historien om origamijenta
(The Professor and the Story of the Origami Girl, medium-length)
