14/11/2023 - This year’s edition is set to unspool from 24 November to 2 December, offering up competitions for first and second works, alongside retrospectives, and a masterclass by Oliver Stone

A festival which looks to combine so many different elements, which looks to the future while keeping an eye on the past, which strives to represent both culture and entertainment, and which pays particular attention to the social side of the coin, as well as welcoming guests who “want to talk, share and give something” to us, the 41st Torino Film Festival (running 24 November – 2 December 2023), or rather “the minestrone” – as its playful director Steve Della Casa describes it, quoting Sergio Citti – will this year be screening 181 films in the Official Selection, of which 128 are feature films, 59 world premieres and 10 international premieres.

The 12 titles battling it out in the Feature Films Competition hail from all corners of the globe (including Argentina, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada). From the Old Continent, we’ll find Swedish movie Kalak [+see also:
film review
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interview: Asta Kamma August
interview: Isabella Eklöf
film profile] by Isabella Eklöf, Belgium’s Camping du lac [+see also:
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interview: Éléonore Saintagnan
film profile] by Eléonore Saintagnan, French film The Rapture [+see also:
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interview: Iris Kaltenbäck
film profile] by Iris Kaltenbäck, Ukraine’s La Palisiada [+see also:
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interview: Philip Sotnychenko
film profile] by Philip Sotnychenko, and Russia’s Grace [+see also:
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film profile] by Ilya Povolotsky. Representing Italy, meanwhile, we’ll find Non riattaccare [+see also:
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film profile], a high-tension Covid-based movie directed by Manfredi Lucibello and starring Barbara Ronchi. The competition is also set to showcase two animated titles: the Italian-French movie Chicken For Linda! [+see also:
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film profile] by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, and Hungary’s White Plastic Sky [+see also:
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interview: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó
film profile] by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó.

Two will be the number of competitions dedicated to documentaries: the first, composed of 8 international titles, will platform works such as Our Body [+see also:
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film profile] by Claire Simon, Pelikan Blue [+see also:
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interview: Laszló Csaki
film profile] by László Csáki, which tells the true story of three Hungarian boys who travel west with counterfeit tickets following the fall of Communism, and who create a lucrative (and capitalistic) work model, and Kumjana Novakova’s Bosnian movie Silence of Reason [+see also:
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film profile]. Stealing focus in the Italian Documentary Competition - whose capacity has grown to include 10 titles this year - are Annuloje Liglin by Fabrizio Bellomo, exploring Enver Hoxha’s legacy in Albania, and Oltre la valle by Virginia Bellizzi, which captures the tensions felt by migrants and community workers on the border between Italy and France.

For its part, the copious Out of Competition section aims to appeal to all kinds of audiences, from demanding cinephiles all the way through to the wider public. Titles in this line-up include A Difficult Year [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Nakache and Eric To…
film profile] by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, Close Your Eyes [+see also:
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film profile] by Víctor Erice, Deserts [+see also:
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interview: Faouzi Bensaïdi
film profile] by Faouzi Bensaïdi, Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World [+see also:
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interview: Radu Jude
film profile] by Radu Jude, Folle d’amore - Alda Merini by Roberto Faenza (which sees the director homing in on the beloved poetess with the help of Laura Morante), Omaggio a Mimmo Jodice by Mario Martone (revolving around the great Neapolitan photographer), Afire [+see also:
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interview: Christian Petzold
film profile] by Christian Petzold, Robot Dreams [+see also:
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film profile] by Pablo Berger, Yannick [+see also:
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film profile] by Quentin Dupieux, and six Italian first works, including Girasoli [+see also:
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film profile] by Catrinel Marlon (the sponsor of this year’s festival) which stars Monica Guerritore. Alexander Payne will also be returning to Turin with The Holdovers, alongside Takeshi Kitano with Kubi and Barbet Schroeder with Ricardo and Painting [+see also:
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film profile].

Set to round off the programme is a selection of 6 titles from TorinoFilmLab, a handful of short films hailing from Spazio Italia, a focus on Argentina, the Crazies section consisting of 8 horror and sci-fi titles, New Worlds with a selection of works expanding the horizons of contemporary cinema, and Back To Life, showcasing restored works. That’s without forgetting a tribute to John Wayne, a retrospective on Sergio Citti, and masterclasses led by names such as Pupi Avati, Fabrizio Gifuni, Christian Petzold, Kyle Eastwood (who authored the soundtracks of some of his father Clint’s biggest films) and, last but not least, Oliver Stone.

(Translated from Italian)