Noir in Festival 2025 returns again this year and makes IULM the heart of its 35th edition

The festival and the centrality of IULM

From December 1 to 6, Milan hosts the XXXV edition of the Noir in Festival, the most important Italian event dedicated to noir between cinema, literature, comics, podcasts and new narrative forms.
Once again this year, IULM University is a partner and authentic "heart" of the festival, a privileged venue for in-depth meetings and major events dedicated to research in contemporary languages.

The great events in IULM

Raymond Chandler Prize 2025 - Lectio magistralis by Mick Herron

December 4, 11 a.m. - Auditorium (IULM 6)

The prestigious Raymond Chandler Award, given since 1988 to the masters of noir and spy story fiction, is awarded this year to British writer Mick Herron, author of the Slow Horses series, from which the successful Apple TV+ series is based.
Herron will give a lectio magistralis at IULM introduced by Pro-rector Fabio Vittorini and will dialogue with Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London.
A unique opportunity for students, faculty and audience to explore the behind-the-scenes of serial writing and the workings of the British audiovisual industry

Caligari Award screenings

As every year, the Athenaeum hosts screenings dedicated to the Caligari Award, an award that celebrates the best Italian film noir of the year.
On the program are the finalist works, presented together with critics, scholars and film professionals to explore new trends in contemporary Italian noir

Meetings dedicated to the new languages of noir

IULM University also hosts a rich program of meetings dedicated to the emerging languages of noir storytelling:

• Graphic novels and comics: Jacopo Starace (Smiling Woods), La Came (author of the festival's official image and member of the Mammaiuto collective), Spugna with the new Cattivik 2.0.
• Podcasts and audio storytelling: meetings with Sara Poma (Daughters, The City of Asbestos), Andrea Maltagliati and Guido Guerci (The Banker of God).
• Masterclass by Adrian Wootton dedicated to the relationship between noir and musicals.

Other festival events

Alongside the events in IULM, Noir in Festival will inhabit the symbolic places of Milanese culture:

Cinema

• World premiere of the Sky Original Amadeus series.
• International film competition with 7 films in competition.
• Special events and out-of-competition screenings, including the Rai documentary Chi è senza colpa and the restored cult film The Angel's Egg by Mamoru Oshii

Literature

• Meetings at Rizzoli Galleria Bookstore with leading authors such as Maurizio de Giovanni, Marco Vichi, Giuliano da Empoli, Gian Andrea Cerone, Baraldi, Longo, Robecchi, Zilahy.
• Giorgio Scerbanenco 2025 Prize for the best Italian noir novel of the year, with announcements and ceremony at the Manzoni House.

Tributes and insights

• Tribute to Andrea Camilleri, on the centenary of his birth.
• Presentation of the special issue of Pantagruel magazine dedicated to director Claudio Caligari.

Noir in Festival 2025 relaunches its vocation: to cross the boundaries of the genre and read contemporaneity through shadows, investigations, psychologies, conflicts and new imagery. Through the collaboration with IULM, the festival confirms its workshop soul and the central role of the University in cultural and creative processes related to the world of cinema and storytelling.