7953 viewers in our theaters, 27 talks and meetings, 3 live musical performances with DJ sets, 11 days and nights packed with dialogue and conviviality. 39 films, counting features, shorts, VR experiences and video clips. 24 countries represented, ranging from Asia to the United States, and from Africa to South America, by way of Europe, Italy, and the Venetian Lagoon. 4 first films in competition, 6 women behind the camera. 307 photographs published in our own official photo gallery for the event, out of 5800 total shots taken; not to mention the 50 "lions" that roared at the Villa, wearing their masks, which also adorned the Giornate poster this year. On social media, over 16,000 interactions on Facebook and 3500 views of the Instagram stories. 400 bottles of Prosecco uncorked at the Villa and 300 of wine, to which must be added the over 1300 Spritzes served, thanks to the indefatigable Tino Events.

These are the numbers for Giornate degli Autori 2019, and now for the myriad personalities at our side for the duration of this adventure, such as: Alessandro Gassman, Cécile de France, Valeria Golino, Joe Odagiri, Golshifteh Farahani, Rossy de Palma, Terry Gilliam, Margarethe von Trotta, Marco Bellocchio and Mario Martone. Or Pierre Cardin, Toni Servillo, Mattie Do, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Rami Malek, Lynne Ramsay, Isabella Ragonese, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Shafer and many more.

And how can we forget this year's winners: Jayro Bustamante and María Mercedes Coroy, director and star of La Llorona, winner of the 2019 GdA Director's Award; and the French-Tunisian newcomer Manele Labidi, who walked away with the BNL People's Choice Award for her Arab Blues. Last but not least, the Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, whose Corpus Christi was honored with the Europa Cinemas Label.

"The game appointed for this sixteenth edition of Giornate," says Giorgio Gosetti, artistic director, "was the idea of wearing lion masks. Much like at the Venice Carnival and other Venetian festivities, we asked our filmmakers to wear them, and to our surprise, they all agreed to hide behind that filter that made them all the same and all different, just like the characters we've come to know through their films this year at Giornate. Ranging from those seeking spirituality at the four corners of the earth to others who assert their own identities at all costs, as peoples or individuals. We've offered up comedies and dramas, and debut filmmakers, with the result, as is now clear, of the smiles on everyone's faces. Which, thank heavens, were too many to count."