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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Asta Kamma August
entrevista: Isabella Eklöf
ficha de la película] by Isabella Eklöf, Belgium’s Camping du lac [+lee también:
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entrevista: Éléonore Saintagnan
ficha de la película] by Eléonore Saintagnan, French film The Rapture [+lee también:
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entrevista: Iris Kaltenbäck
ficha de la película] by Iris Kaltenbäck, Ukraine’s La Palisiada [+lee también:
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entrevista: Philip Sotnychenko
ficha de la película] by Philip Sotnychenko, and Russia’s Grace [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Ilya Povolotsky. Representing Italy, meanwhile, we’ll find Non riattaccare [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], 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! [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, and Hungary’s White Plastic Sky [+lee también:
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entrevista: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Sz…
ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Claire Simon, Pelikan Blue [+lee también:
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entrevista: Laszló Csaki
ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Kumjana Novakova
ficha de la película]. 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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Olivier Nakache y Eric Tol…
ficha de la película] by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, Close Your Eyes [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Víctor Erice, Deserts [+lee también:
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entrevista: Faouzi Bensaïdi
ficha de la película] by Faouzi Bensaïdi, Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World [+lee también:
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entrevista: Radu Jude
ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christian Petzold
ficha de la película] by Christian Petzold, Robot Dreams [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Pablo Berger, Yannick [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Quentin Dupieux, and six Italian first works, including Girasoli [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] 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 [+lee también:
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ficha de la película].

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.