Turin Film Festival 2026: 12 Mole Stars, 120 Films, Aiming for International Spotlight

The Torino Film Festival by Giulio Base, which has directed the event since 2024, has “increased its light both in Italy and abroad.” This was stated by Base himself when he spoke after the President of the Cinema Museum Enzo Ghigo and after the Undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni, who had offered eloquent words of praise for his work. Base does not shy away and openly declares the confidence he has in himself and the absence of fear in the face of criticism. “Indeed, when I don’t have it I miss it,” he says.
So, not that this is a genuine critique, one might point out that the fact that Base’s TFF is indeed more loved and more visible than in the past, and in particular than during the Martini years (the same ones — I’m biased, I know — who saw me as part of the selection committee), is perhaps debatable.
Moreover, it is certainly true that the caravan of stars Base, with the complicity and support of his wife Tiziana Rocca, has been able to bring to Turin and has helped propel pages in newspapers (newspapers in which, independently of Base and the TFF, cinema is now treated as a red carpet phenomenon, while criticism and in-depth reflection are dramatically absent). In this regard, Base also asserts that, as a long-time aficionado of the TFF dating back to its origins when it was “Cinema Giovani”, the stars at the festival have not distorted the festival’s nature, and that in the program of the main competitions (feature films, documentaries and short films) the same spirit as always is present.

But let us now examine what this program of TFF44 is, which Base wants to be capable of fusing attention to the star system and social whirl on one hand with “preserving the festival’s cinephile and auteur imprint” on the other, starting with the announced retrospective on Marilyn Monroe in the year of the centenary of her birth (which will consist of 24 films to be presented by as many female critics), and the 12 Stars of the Mole, the awards bestowed upon the festival’s prestigious guests.
Here are the awardees and the films they will present at the Festival.

1. Luc Besson (Dogman)
2. Margarethe Von Trotta (Anni di piombo)
3. Fanny Ardant (Ela Olhava Sem Nada Ver)
4. Steven Frears (Piccoli affari sporchi)
5. Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco)
6. Maria de Medeiros (Pulp Fiction)
7. Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems)
8. Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
9. John Travolta (November 1963 + Volo notturno per Los Angeles)
10. Andy Garcia (Diamond)
11. Mira Sorvino (That One Beautiful Day)
12. Isabelle Huppert (Die Blutgräfin)

Presenting the films of the program, Base stressed that the 120 titles that comprise it (a number lower than that of other festivals, which for the director is emblematic of a real selective effort, namely to “choose what is necessary”) show a strong presence of female directors. In particular, among the 16 films in the main competition, as many as 10 are directed by women, just as the three jurors to be presiding over the juries are all women (Francesca Archibugi, Stefania Casini and Chiara Francini will head the juries for feature films, documentaries and shorts respectively), while Ambra Angiolini will co-host the opening night which will culminate with the screening of the film November 1963 – The Kennedy Assassination, a political thriller directed by Roland Joffé and starring John Travolta, which will arrive in Italian cinemas on December 3 and which explores one of the most debated theories about the murder of the American president: the possible involvement of the mafia in the conspiracy that led to his death.
In the Zibaldone section, Base says there will be room for “restorations, curiosities, rediscoveries and world premieres.” The section includes films such as Audrey La Mer by Levi Riso; the documentaries Good People by Milcho Manchevski and Sguardi by Marco Ponti; Umberto Carteni’s comedy L’ultimo salto, featuring Marco Giallini and Max Tortora; Under the Rain by Fabrizio Maria Cortese with Connie Nielsen; Il mio nemico immaginario, Antonia Liskova’s directorial debut; a documentary about Nanni Moretti entitled Caro Nanni and one on Gianni Rondolino by Mimmo Calopresti; the restorations of Piccolo Mondo Antico by Mario Soldati and of Millennium Mambo by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
In the out of competition section there are Bad Lieutenant Tokyo by Miike; The Liberation by Guy Nattiv; the doc Heysel 85, about the tragic events at the Belgian stadium, already shown in Berlin; the announced Italian premiere of You Can See Everything by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim; The End of It with Rebecca Hall and Gael García Bernal; Les Rayon et Les Ombres by Xavier Giannoli; Heil Jupiter by Carlos Reygadas; A Long Winter by Andrew Haigh; La notte delle fragole with Ficarra e Picone and the closing film: a biopic on the legendary Gilles Villeneuve.
In the documentary competition we note Le angelesse di Roberta Torre, about a group of detainees taking part in a theater production, and Seize Moments de ma vie by Albert Serra about the singer and actress Ingrid Caven.
Finally, regarding the feature film competition, dedicated to debut and second works as tradition, there are the Italian titles L’ora più bella by Ernesto Maria Censori with Andrea Arcangeli, Filippo Timi, Peppe Servillo, Sasà Striano and Il primo giorno di vita di Leonardo Revelli, figlio unico by Stefano Grasso with Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Francesco Geghi. Among the international titles, the Norwegian Butterfly featuring Renate Reinsve, the family comedy about porn Truly Naked seen at the Berlinale and a film titled Thirteen in Gaza shot in the Gaza Strip, telling of a displaced girl and her father.
The 2026 Torino Film Festival edition is scheduled in the Piedmont capital from November 24 to December 2.