Special Guest

5 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with MARIA CHIARA GIANNETTA, moderated by Giulia Bianconi

Biography
Maria Chiara Giannetta – (Actress – Foggia, Italy, 1992). Since childhood, she has cultivated a passion for theater. At nineteen, she moved to Rome, where she was admitted to the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, honing her artistic training. After her early television experiences in Don Matteo, L’Allieva, Che Dio ci aiuti, and Un passo dal cielo, she achieved widespread popularity playing Carabinieri Captain Anna Olivieri in Don Matteo. Her success was further consolidated by her role as Anna Della Rosa in the series Buongiorno, mamma! and, above all, as Blanca Ferrando, the protagonist of the self-titled Rai drama inspired by the novels of Patrizia Rinaldi—a role that won over both the public and critics. Alongside her television career, Maria Chiara Giannetta has developed a film career, appearing in movies such as La ragazza del mondo, Ricordi?, Bentornato Presidente, Santocielo, 100 di questi anni, FolleMente, and Muori di lei, confirming her remarkable versatility as an actress. In 2022, she received the Nastro d’Argento – Grandi Serie (Silver Ribbon for Drama Series) as Best Lead Actress for Blanca, an accolade that cements her talent as one of the most appreciated in the Italian audiovisual landscape.

 

5 AUGUST 2026 – PERFORMANCE “REMINISCENZE” written, directed, and starring DALAL SULEIMAN

Biography
Dalal Suleiman (Actress) was born in Naples. A graduate in Political Science, she earned her diploma from the “Elicantropo” drama school directed by Carlo Cerciello, and made her debut at the Napoli Teatro Festival in the play Ecuba, starring alongside Isa Danieli. She began working with the Teatro Stabile di Napoli Mercadante, participating in productions with Massimo Ranieri, Lina Sastri, Mariano Rigillo, Elisabetta Pozzi, Pamela Villoresi, and Angela Pagano. At the same time, she dedicated herself to creating productions about Palestine—her land of origin—staging plays based on novels by great authors such as Ghassan Kanafani and Mahmoud Darwish. Alongside her theater career, she pursues the study of her great passion, dance, and in recent years, she has also worked in dubbing and voice acting.

 

6 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with ALESSANDRO CASSIGOLI, moderated by Giulia Bianconi

Biography
Alessandro Cassigoli (Director). Alessandro Cassigoli’s latest film, co-directed with Casey Kauffman, is VITTORIA, which was presented in the official selection of the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it won the FEDIC Award and the Arca CinemaGiovani Award. VITTORIA also received a nomination at the 2025 David di Donatello Awards for Best Producer (Miglior Produttore). His first fiction feature film, also co-directed with Casey Kauffman, was CALIFORNIE (2021), presented in competition in the “Giornate degli Autori” (Venice Days) section at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label. Previously, Alessandro, together with Casey, directed BUTTERFLY (2018), a documentary presented at the Rome Film Fest in the “Alice nella città” sidebar. The film won the Globo d’oro (Golden Globe Italy) for Best Documentary. Prior to these projects, Alessandro directed dozens of documentaries in various parts of the world for the French-German television channel Arte.

 

6 AUGUST 2026 – Special screening: “SECRET PROGRAM” a selection of films to discover in theater. Introducing the section MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

Biography
Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Director – Tehran, Iran, 1957) is one of the leading figures of the Iranian New Wave. Born in one of Tehran’s poorest neighborhoods, at the age of 15 he joined the revolutionary militia against the Shah’s regime, and at just 17, he was imprisoned for attacking a police station. Released in 1979, during the early 1980s—in addition to his novel The Crystal Garden—he wrote short stories and plays, and co-founded the “Propaganda Center for the Dissemination of Islamic Thought and Art.” In 1982, he made his directorial debut with the film Nasuh’s Repentance (Nassouh le repentant). He rose to fame in 1985 with his fourth film, Boycott. This was followed by The Peddler (1987), The Cyclist (1987), Salaam Cinema (1995), and A Moment of Innocence (Pane e fiore, 1995, which earned a Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival), a movie that opened the doors to international audiences. In 1996, he founded the Makhmalbaf Film House production company, through which he financed his own projects as well as the films of other young Iranian directors, including his three children: Hana, Maysam, and Samira. In 1998, he was at the Venice Film Festival with The Silence (1998, which won the Gold Medal of the Italian Senate, the CinemAvvenire Award, and a Special Mention for the Sergio Trasatti Award at the 55th Venice International Film Festival), a film about the universal value of music. In 2001, he attended the Cannes Film Festival with Kandahar (2001, Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival), a courageous film exposing the situation of women in Afghanistan, which was named by Time as one of the top one hundred films of all time. His successful career continued with, among others, Sex & Philosophy (2005), the documentaries The Gardener (2012) and The President (2014), Marghe and Her Mother (produced on the occasion of Matera – European Capital of Culture 2019), and Talking with Rivers (2023), which was featured in the lineup of the 24th edition of the Lucania Film Festival. He has won over 50 awards and has served on the jury at 15 of the most prestigious international film festivals, including the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 2006 for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Award for a Debut Film. Exiled from Iran, he currently lives in London.

 

7 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with FRANCESCO CANCELLATO and book presentation “Il nemico dentro”

January 31, 2025. With a text message on his phone, Francesco Cancellato, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Fanpage, is informed that his device has been breached by spyware. In the following days, he will discover that the software in question is Graphite, produced by the Israeli company Paragon, which sells its technology exclusively to governments and intelligence agencies. Cancellato retraces his personal experience, that of his newspaper, Fanpage, and the uncomfortable investigations they have spearheaded in recent years. In doing so, he ties together the threads of a story whose outlines remain blurred – amid state secrets that weren’t actually secret, unfounded statements by government ministers and majority politicians, and contradictions in the reports of those tasked with overseeing the intelligence services. All of this is compounded by an executive branch that remains silent on the true responsibilities behind an unprecedented episode of espionage in our country. Through interviews and conversations with experts and key figures in this affair—including Franco Gabrielli, Nello Scavo, Ciro Pellegrino, and Matteo Renzi – Cancellato paints a portrait of the “enemy within.” This is the spyware inside our phones, our own indifference in the face of a scandal of this magnitude, but above all, the wound to democracy that threatens to infect our system of rights.

 

8 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with MARCO TULLIO GIORDANA, moderated by Giulia Bianconi. Extra screening of the film “I cento passi”

Biography
Marco Tullio Giordana (Director – Milan, 1950) is one of the most prominent directors and screenwriters in contemporary Italian cinema. Following his university studies, he made his directorial debut in 1980 with To Love the Damned (Maledetti vi amerò), which was awarded at the Locarno Film Festival and immediately recognized as one of the most significant works of the new generation of Italian filmmakers. Throughout his career, he has made films that address civil, historical, and social issues, with a keen eye on collective memory and the country’s transformations. Among his best-known works are Pasolini, an Italian Crime (Pasolini, un delitto italiano, 1995), dedicated to the death of Pier Paolo Pasolini; The Hundred Steps (I cento passi, 2000), an intense portrait of Peppino Impastato; and The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù, 2003), an epic fresco spanning over forty years of Italian history that won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival, earning widespread international acclaim. He also directed Once You’re Born You Can No Longer Hide (Quando sei nato non puoi più nasconderti, 2005), in which he addresses the issue of undocumented immigration. In the following years, he continued to depict emblematic events of Italian history and society with films such as Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (Romanzo di una strage, 2012), Lea (2015), Nome di donna (2018), and La vita accanto (2024), adapted from the novel of the same name by Mariapia Veladiano. A deeply committed filmmaker, Marco Tullio Giordana has built a filmography that explores the most critical turning points of Italian history. His works have been showcased and awarded at major international festivals, significantly contributing to the prestige of Italian cinema worldwide.

 

8 – 9 AUGUST 2026 – READING and PERFORMANCE by ANGELA FONTANA

Biography
Angela Fontana (Actress). Her big-screen debut came in 2016 with Edoardo De Angelis’s film Indivisible (Indivisibili), in which she played Viola, starring alongside her twin sister Marianna. Her extraordinary and intense portrayal of one of the conjoined twins earned her unanimous critical acclaim and numerous accolades. That same year, she starred in the film Due soldati by Marco Tullio Giordana. In 2018, she starred in Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli’s Likemeback, a generational drama presented at the Locarno Film Festival. Characterized by her magnetic acting and constant expressive exploration, Angela Fontana continues to divide her time between cinema and television.

 

9 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with FORTUNATO CERLINO, moderated by Giulia Bianconi. Extra screening of the film “Avemmaria”

Biography
Fortunato Cerlino (Actor – Naples, 1971). His career began across theater, cinema, and television, distinguishing itself from the very start through his interpretative intensity and versatility. His breakthrough came in 2014 with the role of Don Pietro Savastano in the series Gomorrah, a character that earned him both national and international acclaim. Alongside his television success, Cerlino has built a career rich in cinematic experiences, appearing in productions such as Hannibal, Medici, Britannia, Ron Howard’s Inferno, and Roman Polański’s The Palace. In 2025, he made his feature directorial debut with Avemmaria, a film exploring themes of childhood, dreams, social redemption, and the saving power of imagination. A multifaceted artist, Fortunato Cerlino continues to span cinema, television, theater, and writing, keeping a constant artistic and human exploration at the core of his work.

 

9 AUGUST 2026 – TALK with MARIANNA FONTANA, actress of film “Avemmaria” by Fortunato Cerlino

Biography
Marianna Fontana (Actress). Her major debut came in 2016 with Edoardo De Angelis’s Indivisible (Indivisibili), in which she starred as Daisy alongside her twin sister Angela. The critically acclaimed film earned her numerous awards and nominations, including a David di Donatello nomination for Best Actress, the Biraghi Award at the Nastri d’Argento, the Ciak d’Oro – “Colpo di Fulmine” Award, the Globo d’Oro (Italian Golden Globe), and the WeCiak “La Debuttante” (Best Debut) Award. Additionally, alongside Enzo Avitabile, she won both a David di Donatello and a Nastro d’Argento for Best Original Song with the track Abbi pietà di noi. In 2018, she played the role of Lucia in Mario Martone’s Capri-Revolution, which premiered in competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. Her performance earned her the Ciak d’Oro for Best Actress, as well as further nominations at both the Nastri d’Argento and the David di Donatello awards. Her television work includes a role in Carosello Carosone (2020) and portraying Adele in Sergio Rubini’s The De Filippo Brothers (I fratelli De Filippo, 2021). She then joined Sky for the series Romulus (2020) and its second season Romulus II (2022), directed by Matteo Rovere, in which she played Ilia. She also starred as Parthenope in the film Napoli Magica (2022), directed by Marco D’Amore. In 2023, she starred in the internationally cast project Gold Diggers, directed by Valerio Esposito. That same year, she also starred alongside Marco D’Amore in Cécile Allegra’s Criature, and appeared in Claudio Bisio’s L’ultima volta che siamo stati bambini. In 2024, she played the lead role in Vito Palmieri’s La seconda vita, which premiered at the Bif&st in Bari and won her the Fabrique du Cinéma Award for Best Actress. In 2025, she starred in Luce by Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino, which was presented in the Golden Leopard competition at the 77th Locarno Film Festival and at the Rome Film Fest; her performance earned her a Nastro d’Argento nomination for Best Actress. Alongside her film career, she has also distinguished herself on stage in Mimmo Borrelli’s theatrical production La cupa, performed at the Teatro San Ferdinando in 2018 and 2020, which earned her a nomination for the 2018 Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano awards.