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Matteo Faccenda

Director
Matteo Faccenda, born in 1984, is an Italian director, producer, and editor specializing in documentary films. His work focuses on topics that highlight social and cultural issues, combining them with a clear visual signature. His film REFLEX ON THE SCREEN (2021, directed by Matteo Faccenda) was shown at the Visioni dal Mondo festival. In this work, he explores the influence of digital media on individual and collective consciousness. With precise observation and cinematic sensitivity, Faccenda succeeds in illuminating the interaction between screen reality and human perception. He made another important contribution with GENIUS LOCI (2022, directed by Matteo Faccenda), an 80-minute documentary film. The work deals with the concept of the “spirit of place” and has been presented at international festivals, including Visioni dal Mondo. With this film, he demonstrated his ability to translate cultural-historical and philosophical concepts into film and make them accessible to a wider audience. In addition, his filmography includes other works that position him as a versatile filmmaker. His projects combine documentary precision with an artistic signature that has been well received by critics. Matteo Faccenda has received recognition for his films at festivals, particularly through the selection of his works in competitions such as Visioni dal Mondo, which is considered a platform for international documentaries. He has thus established himself as a fixture on the European documentary film scene. With REFLEX ON THE SCREEN and GENIUS LOCI, Matteo Faccenda has proven that he is one of the innovative voices of contemporary Italian documentary filmmaking, combining social issues with artistic consistency.

Films

Reflex on the Screen

Reflex on the Screen

By Matteo Faccenda

2021 | 77 min | Documentary

An intimate portrait about Stefano's transition, his self-image, and the dark side of media visibility in trans masculinity.

Genius Loci

Genius Loci

By Matteo Faccenda

2022 | 81 min | Documentary

A journey across Asia in search of its spiritual essence and the hidden spirit within ourselves.

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When I went to visit the boys

When I went to visit the boys

2024 | 90 min | Documentary

In southern Burgenland, a region where time seems to stand still, a filmmaker encounters men of different ages and backgrounds. With her cell phone camera, she documents conversations about work, family, dreams, and the challenges of modern life. The men open up, share their stories, and reflect on their roles in a changing society. What begins as personal field research unfolds into a quiet but profound portrait of a region and its men. Initial strangeness gives way to trust. The men talk about ...

Soldier Ahmet

Soldier Ahmet

2021 | 76 min | Documentary

Ahmet Simsek is a hardworking paramedic in the Austrian army and talented boxer. Despite being the dutiful son of Turkish immigrants, Ahmet feels a sense of detachment from himself and his community. However, things take an interesting turn when he enrolls in acting classes and lands the lead role in A Streetcar Named Desire. But as he tries to confront his own vulnerability, he struggles to break free from traditional gender roles and conflicts with himself arise. The film provides a nuanced and ...

Do Not Fear

Do Not Fear

2019 | 66 min | Documentary

What happens when a very popular village priest decides after 27 years of successful community work to finally face a lifelong issue and publicly announces his transgender identity? The rumors that he was wearing women's clothes forces pastor Hans-Gerd Spörkel to take a break. Shortly thereafter, his wife separates from him, and the village turns their backs on him. Half a year later, she resolutely returns as Elke Spörkel and holds her first service as a woman. After a controversial discussion, ...

Be There

Be There

2017 | 81 min | Queer

The architect Alain lives secluded in his luxurious finca on the Mallorcan hinterland. He avoids contact with other humans until he has to go out into the world. Alain, an architect, lives secluded in his luxurious villa on the island outback of Mallorca. He wears only women's clothes and avoids contact with other people - even his house keepers. Eventually he is forced to break out of his isolation, but neither he nor the outside world seem ready for it. Lotta Doll's debut film BE THERE, filmed ...

The Bitter Apple From the Tree

The Bitter Apple From the Tree

2015 | 29 min | Documentary

A summer in South Korea: a filmmaker returns to her home country, driven by her complex relationship with her mother. In a small apartment in Incheon, an intimate story unfolds about a woman whose life has been shaped by disappointment and conformity. The youngest of four sisters, born unwanted, she left home at the age of twelve. Since then, she has struggled, marked by the expectations of society and her own family. The daughter's camera captures moments of intimacy and confrontation, an interplay ...

Amorous, Antiquated, Audacious

Amorous, Antiquated, Audacious

2009 | 64 min | Documentary

This ambitious directorial debut chronicles lesbian lifestyles and social networking in Vienna in the 1950s and 60s. In those years, Vienna was a drab and traditional place. The scene - if it existed at all - was male- oriented, and the few bars where women did meet were not particularly inviting. Lesbian life was characterized by invisibility and, if anything, was criminalized. Three eyewitnesses of that era talk in an eloquently and refreshingly (self-)ironic way about what it was like to feel ...

Last Exit Gran Canaria

Last Exit Gran Canaria

2025 | 82 min | Queer

In this daring autofictional documentary, filmmaker Tim Lienhard, raised in a Catholic family in southern Germany, traces his late-in-life transformation into a provocatively performative drag persona. Now 64, he reflects on identity, sexuality, aging, and self-esteem with shameless openness and humor. His journey takes him from Berlin to the Torremolinos Porn Festival and Pride Week in Gran Canaria, where he meets OnlyFans creators, partygoers, and peers who share their stories of desire and liberation. What ...

Stories from the Sea

Stories from the Sea

2021 | 86 min | Documentary

The film shows these women as they navigate the sea, calculate routes and perform tasks such as hoisting the sails and steering the ship. The documentary features women of different ages and backgrounds, including an apprentice on a cargo ship, a retiree traveling alone on a cruise ship, and a group of young people on a sailing trip for intercultural understanding. The sea serves as a unifying element between the stories, and Serafin Spitzer's film footage captures the vastness and beauty of the ...

Islands in the City

Islands in the City

2021 | 23 min | Comedy

In the calm expanse of the Elbe, where the evening sun bathes the decommissioned cruise ships in a soft light, a story of longing and waiting begins. A young man, played by Marian Freistühler, finds himself on the banks of this mighty river, surrounded by strolling couples gazing into the sunset. His thoughts drift to an uncertain message that could determine his future destiny. The melancholy scenery becomes the setting for an inner drama as he imagines embarking on a journey himself – a journey ...

We will survive

We will survive

2018 | 29 min | Documentary

In this retirement home, unique in Germany, seniors of any sexual orientation are offered more than a home in old age. The documentary short film WE WILL SURVIVE observes the humorous, heartfelt and yet not always entirely conflict-free everyday life at Frankfurt's Regenbogen retirement home, exploring the question of how we want to live and love in our twilight years. "The film treats the topic of life in old age in a fear-free and life-affirming way, without ignoring the existing problems and ...