Article by Alessandra Sottini

Translation by Luca Perrone

On November 7th in Rome, the elegant Acquario Romano venue hosted the press conference presenting the 43rd edition of the Torino Film Festival. This year, the event is adorned with the face and magnetic gaze of Paul Newman, as evident from the poster: a picture shot in 1981 by Eva Sereny, which captures the famous star during the filming of Absence of Malice. It goes without saying that this is one of the twenty-four movies of the Festival paying homage to the actor.

After the President of the National Museum of Cinema, Enzo Ghigo, greeted the audience, and after the speech given by the Museum Director, Carlo Chatrian – who confirmed the great opening at Teatro Regio on November 21st and the collaboration with Rai Studios in Turin –, it was Giulio Base’s turn, who took the floor to pay tribute to his mentor Vittorio Gassman.

The two-time artistic director’s aims remain essentially unchanged: to preserve the authorial and cinephile mark of the event with a focus on films. TV series are excluded, not because of snobbism, Base clarifies, after receiving the applause, but for a vindication of the specificity of the movie theatre as a place dedicated to cinema. The purpose of the program, which results from a selection of over six thousand titles, remains the same as last year: to combine entertainment and significance through the one hundred and twenty films presented, within a streamlined and unadorned framework that nevertheless retains its cosmopolitan vocation. While talking about his transition from childhood to adolescence, Base underlined that the right combination of these elements is the greatest responsibility which led him to be reconfirmed as the artistic director. Indeed, in an effort to present an event which can be greater than the previous one, he did not give up on big names and surprises: there are many world premieres as well as Italian ones, which find place in various sections of the Festival (competition, out of competition and zibaldone). However, Base also specified that he paid particular attention to current events and the delicate international situation, in order to remind the audience of the cinema’s ability to unite, to stir emotions and to inspire reflection.

Therefore, all that remains is to wait for the doors of the movie theater to open and for the lights to go down. The magic of the big screen, promised by the festival, is about to come true.