11/11/2021 - The Torino Film Festival will unspool between 26 November and 4 December, with cinemas at full capacity, spotlighting 181 films hailing from around the world

After a streamed 2020 edition, the 39th Torino Film Festival is primed and ready to unfold in person, with its auditoriums at full capacity, between 26 November and 4 December. Furthermore, as highlighted by artistic director Stefano Francia Di Celle, gatherings uniting audiences with film authors will be at the heart of the entire event. Famous faces will include Monica Bellucci - who will be awarded the Stella della Mole Prize – as well as Matilda De Angelis, Sergio Castellitto, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mimmo Calopresti.

The international competition selectors have played it safe with 12 first and second works which have already proved popular in other festivals, especially in Cannes, including the European productions Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
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interview: Selman Nacar
film profile] - which marks the debut of Turkish director Selman Nacar and which previously screened in the San Sebastián film festival; Clara Sola [+see also:
film review
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interview: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
film profile] by the Swedish filmmaker of Latin American heritage Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, which was very well received at this year’s Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes; Feathers [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Egypt’s Omar El Zohairy, which won the Grand Prize for Best Film in Critics’ Week; Great Freedom [+see also:
film review
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interview: Sebastian Meise
film profile] by Austria’s Sebastian Meise, which won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes and which triumphed in Sarajevo as well as at the Viennale; Sandrine Kiberlain’s A Radiant Girl [+see also:
film review
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film profile], which graced Critics’ Week’s Special Screenings; The Crossing [+see also:
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film profile] by Florence Miailhe, awarded a Jury Special Mention in Annecy 2021 and selected for San Sebastián; and the Italian film The Mute Man of Sardinia [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Matteo Fresi, which will be distributed by Fandango.

Worth highlighting in the out of competition line-up is the closing film Aline, The Voice of Love [+see also:
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film profile] - Valérie Lemercier’s biopic based on pop icon Céline Dion - which screened out of competition in Cannes; CODA by Sian Heder, which drew crowds at Sundance, earning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Direction, alongside the Audience Award and the Special Jury Cast Prize; Isabel Coixet’s new work It Snows in Benidorm [+see also:
film review
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interview: Isabel Coixet
film profile], which opened Valladolid; German film Human Factors [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ronny Trocker
film profile] by Ronny Trocker, which was selected for Sundance and the Berlinale’s Panorama section, which likewise showcased The World After Us [+see also:
film review
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interview: Louda Ben Salah-Cazanas
film profile] by Louda Ben Salah-Cazanas; Playground [+see also:
film review
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interview: Laura Wandel
film profile] by Laura Wandel, previously seen in the Un Certain Regard line-up and rewarded at London’s BFI event; Belgium’s Dark Heart of the Forest [+see also:
film review
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interview: Serge Mirzabekiantz
film profile] by Serge Mirzabekiantz (Black Nights 2021); The Restless [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] by Joachim Lafosse, which competed in Cannes, much like Lingui, The Sacred Bonds [+see also:
film review
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interview: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Achou…
film profile] by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Jane By Charlotte [+see also:
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film profile] directed by Charlotte Gainsbourg (Cannes Premiere section); the first feature film by Croatia’s Sonja Tarokić, The Staffroom [+see also:
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interview: Sonja Tarokić
film profile], which bagged a Jury Special Mention in Karlovy Vary; and Natural Light [+see also:
film review
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interview: Dénes Nagy
film profile] by Hungary’s Dénes Nagy, which scooped the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlinale.

Italian films gracing the showcase include two first works: La svolta [+see also:
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film profile] by Riccardo Antonaroli and Altri padri [+see also:
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film profile] by Mario Sesti; L’uomo dal fiore in bocca by Gabriele Lavia; Gianni Schicchi by Damiano Michieletto; The Angel in the Wall [+see also:
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film profile] by Lorenzo Bianchini; and the documentaries Il pranzo di Francesco by Pasquale Scimeca and Luca Capponi, Il tempo rimasto [+see also:
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film profile] by Daniele Gaglianone and Il fronte interno by Paola Piacenza. The Truffle Hunters [+see also:
film review
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interview: Gregory Kershaw and Michael…
film profile] will be the cherry on the cake of this particular section: a documentary revolving around Italian enthusiasts in the truffle hunting field, which is directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, with executive production coming courtesy of Luca Guadagnino.

(Translated from Italian)