Screenings

Monday 26 October 2026, 19:00 c/o Sala dei 146
The Invisible Half, by Masaki Nishiyama (Inbijiburu Hafu, Japan, 2025, 106’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

A half‑Japanese high‑school girl, tormented because of her foreign origins, discovers that she is being followed by a monster that can be perceived only through her smartphone. A homage to J‑horror that succeeds in renewing its themes.

Monday 26 October 2026, 21:00 c/o Sala dei 146
Steal Away, by Clement Virgo (id., Canada/Belgium, 2025, 113’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

In an alternative universe resembling the Deep South, two teenage girls – a debutante and a refugee – form a murky, obsessive bond. A stylish dystopian fairy tale about social inequality and desire.

Monday 27 October 2026, 18:30 c/o Sala dei 146
God Skin, by Paween Purijitpanya (id., Thailand, 2026, 127’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

To save his mother, a delivery rider fights in an underground arena where special tattoos unlock powers and receive impulses from the fans. An action‑fantasy packed with humor, visual invention, and a protagonist it’s impossible not to root for.

Monday 27 October 2026, 20:45 c/o Sala dei 146
Godhead, by Mark H. Rapaport (id., USA/UK, 2026, 99’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

A country priest finds himself entangled in a twisted situation when he is visited by a pair of strange twins who claim to be emissaries of God. A black‑and‑white weird parable from the director of the unclassifiable Hippo (2023).

Wednesday 28 October 2026, 18:30 c/o Auditorium
Niko, by Julien Levy (id., South Korea, 2026, 111’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

For Niko, a penniless screenwriter, the city is no longer enough to satisfy her immense need for romance – and she finds the most extravagant way to make up for it. A starring debut for Tiffany of the K‑pop group Girls’ Generation.

Wednesday 28 October 2026, 20:45 c/o Auditorium
Sleep No More, by Edwin (Monster Pabrik Rambut, Indonesia/Singapore/Japan/Germany/France, 2026, 96’)

In Maryati’s factory, the workers know well the one true rule they must follow: resting is a betrayal. A dark fable for all workers, directed by one of the most important filmmakers in Indonesian cinema and previously presented at the Berlinale.

Thursday 29 October 2026, 18:30 c/o Auditorium
The Ones Who Grieve, by Quarxx (Les âmes en peine, France, 2026, 116’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

As a mysterious illness known as the ‘Black Veil’ ravages an isolated 19th‑century countryside, Zélie struggles to preserve her humanity and break free from her violent father. The return of the director of Pandemonium (2023).

Thursday 29 October 2026, 20:45 c/o Auditorium
Decorado, by Alberto Vázquez (id., Spain/Portugal, 2025, 95’)

Arnold, a middle‑aged mouse in the throes of an existential crisis, begins to believe that reality is a simulation and sets off on a journey in search of the truth. The director of Unicorn Wars (2022) returns with a new animated adventure, already the winner of a Goya.

Friday 30 October 2026, 18:00 c/o Sala dei 146
The Night, by Paul Urkijo Alijo (Gaua, Spain, 2025, 87’) ITALIAN PREMIERE

Basque Country, 17th century. Kattalin flees her violent husband, seeking refuge in the night. Lost in the dark forest, she senses a sinister presence pursuing her. A folk horror that moves between reality and the fantastical realm of Basque mythology.

Friday 30 October 2026, 20:00 c/o Sala dei 146
After the award ceremony:
Matapanki, by Diego ‘Mapache’ Fuentes (Chile, 2026, 71’)

Chile. Punk Ricardo spends his days with his inseparable friends Mella and Claudia, but when the trio gains superpowers, they realize it’s time to change the world. A free‑spirited, daredevil DIY work, soon to be released in Italian cinemas by Minerva Pictures.

Curated by Riccardo Caccia, Elena Gipponi and Rocco Moccagatta, professors of Film History at IULM University

Accustomed to Western science fiction, we often associate sci‑fi with adventure and explosions. For Soviet creators, however, space exploration was a powerful metaphor – a way to imagine new scenarios from which to reflect, above all, on the human condition. Limits and fears, opportunities and ethics: an introspective lens that accompanied the space race, initially won by the Soviets themselves, and that generated hundreds of titles across all the countries that formed the Soviet bloc. With this retrospective, we trace the evolution of the science fiction produced beyond the Iron Curtain, from the October Revolution to the years just before the fall of the Wall.

Monday 26 October 2026, 14:00 c/o Sala dei 146
Stalker, by Andrej Tarkovskij (USSR, 1979, 163’)

Tuesday 27 October 2026, 10:30 c/o Sala dei 146
On the Silver Globe, by Andrzej Żuławski (Poland, 1988, 167’) – Restored version

Thursday 29 October 2026, 11:00 c/o Sala dei 146
Ikarie XB-1, by Jindřich Polák (Czechoslovakia, 1963, 86’) – Restored version

Friday 30 October 2026, 9:00 c/o Sala dei 146
Aelita, by Yakov Protazanov (USSR, 1924, 111’)

Wednesday 28 October 2026, 9:00 c/o Sala dei 146
SHORT FILMS #1

When She Sings, by Paul Holbrook (UK, 2026, 25’) Italian Premiere
Frankenstein’s Dream, by Simon Pummell (Belgium/Netherland, 2025, 14’) Italian Premiere
The Waking Dark: Leumas, by Anirudh Menon (United Arab Emirates, 2026, 13’) Italian Premiere
Frozen Fiancee [Viyōsāṁkā], by Seya Nimnadi Bellanage (Sri Lanka, 2026, 13’) Italian Premiere
Remembered If Outlived, by Keita Prokopčenko (Ireland/Latvia, 2026, 11’) Italian Premiere
In the Valleys [En los valles], by Emanuel Alejandro Figueroa (Argentina, 2026, 10’) Italian Premiere

Thursday 29 October 2026, 9:00 c/o Sala dei 146
SHORT FILMS #2

Clean Slate, by Alex Geffen and Cass Huckabay (USA, 2025, 15’) Italian Premiere
Scrounger, by Fred Stanton (UK, 2026, 9’)
Those Little Things, by Poli Gonzales and Massah Gonzales-Gamboa (Philippines, 2025, 20’) Italian Premiere
The Tribute [La ofrenda], by Josué Sánchez Reyes (Mexico, 2026, 5’) Italian Premiere
Summer Fling, by Krit Komkrichwarakool (Canada, 2025, 13’) European Premiere
You Must See It [Tenéis que verlo], by Nacho Solana (Spain, 2025, 17’) Italian Premiere
Playing Movies On Repeat, by Aaron Wheeler (UK, 2026, 10’) World Premiere

Thursday 29 October 2026, 13:30 c/o Sala dei 146
SHORT FILMS #3

La noche de anoche, by Emma Jorgensen (Spain, 2026, 14’) Italian Premiere
Frostbite [Il mostro delle nevi], by Mirko Fois (Italy, 2026, 10’)
Ai’s Favorite Actress [Ulubiona Aktorka AI], by Marek Suchenia (Poland, 2026, 26’) Italian Premiere
A Matter of Candy, by Halim Yentür (Turkey, 2026, 6’) Italian Premiere
Domestic, by Nima Abdolazimi (Iran, 2025, 20’) Italian Premiere
Due to Delay [Tuōyán yǒngshuǐ], by Xianzhi Zhang (China, 2026, 4’) Italian Premiere
Bait [Señuelo], by Martha G. Ayerbe (Spain, 2025, 16’) Italian Premiere

Friday 30 October 2026, 13:00 c/o Sala dei 146
SHORT FILMS #4

Right to Time [Derecho al tiempo], by Martin Pizarro Veglia (Chile, 2026, 7’) World Premiere
The New Flesh [O novo corpo], by Luciana Malavasi (Brazil, 2025, 22’) Italian Premiere
Extras [Comparse], by Francesco Aiello (Italy, 2026, 19’) Italian Premiere
A Dream Like a Dream, by Lingjie Sheng (China, 2026, 13’) European Premiere
Mirror Illusions [Jìngxiàng huànxiǎng], by Zhong Long (China, 2026, 3’) Italian Premiere
Bye Bye Garbage [Khodahafez ashghal], by Bahman Ark and Bahram Ark (Iran, 2026, 24’) Italian Premiere

Tuesday 27 October 2026, 9:30 c/o Sala dei 146

The Old Lady & The Eternity (Marc Martínez Jordán, Spain, 2026, 12’ – in collaboration with Fancine Fantastic Film Festival in Malaga)
Il criaturo sintetico (Sarah Narducci, Italy, 2024, 16’ – in collaboration with Trieste Science+Fiction Festival)
Amira (Javier Yáñez Sanz, Spain, 2025, 16’ – in collaboration with Galician Freaky Film Festival)

FEATURE FILM JURY

Fiaba Di Martino is a journalist and a member of the Italian National Union of Film Critics (SNCCI) and FIPRESCI. A graduate of the Luchino Visconti Civic School of Cinema and Television in Milan, she has been writing film criticism for the weekly magazine Film Tv and its website since 2016. She has worked for MyMovies and Best Movie, and collaborates with Tv Sorrisi & Canzoni, Gli Spietati, and Bianco e Nero. Since 2023 she has been the co‑director of the Arthouse Award series (Cinema Farnese, Rome), and since 2025 she has been co‑author of the programme Mercoledì d’autore – Emozioni da guardare (Cinema Arcadia, Melzo).

Claudio Moneta is an actor and voice actor. After studying acting at CTA in Milan, he began working in theatre in 1988. He has an extensive career as a voice actor in films, TV series, sitcoms, animated features, video games, documentaries, and commercials (including How I Met Your Mother – Barney, Charlie Sheen in Anger Management, SpongeBob in SpongeBob, Goku in Dragon Ball, Shepard in Mass Effect, Shadow in Sonic, Garfield), and also works as a dubbing director. For television, he has acted in feature films produced by Rai and Swiss Italian Television, and won the Castrocaro Award for Vittorio Rifranti’s film L’attesa. He has taken part in musical productions with Diego Fasolis’s Barocchisti, the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, the Andersen Quintet, OSI, the Accademia della Scala, and the Civica Filarmonica di Lugano. His recent theatre productions include L’uomo dal fiore in bocca (with Corrado Tedeschi), Oedipus Rex (with Roberta Petrozzi and Nino Formicola), Flowers for Algernon (solo performance), and Marcovaldo (with Max Pisu). Upcoming productions include Forbici e follia (with Max Pisu and Nino Formicola).

Federico Sfascia began his career as an illustrator and worked in comics until 2007, when he decided to pick up a video camera (a gigantic Super‑VHS) and shoot the horror screwball comedy Beauty Full Beast, his first real attempt at making a film. He went on to direct several short films and music videos, followed by I REC U (2013), a fantastical comedy featuring a cameo by American filmmaker Terry Gilliam. D.S., one of the shorts from the series Le Notti del Maligno, was selected and broadcast by the BBC within the programme The Fear. His most recent feature is the sci‑fi horror comedy WitchStars, listed among the top ten unreleased films of 2018 by Film Tv. The short film I 400 Calci – The Movie introduced the 2019 Sylvester Awards for the legendary combat‑cinema magazine I 400 Calci. He is currently working on the pre‑production of his new film Il Re del Pugno and on the epic comic series Dedi Dead Devil.

SHORT FILM JURY

Annalisa Pellino is a post-doc researcher and adjunct professor of Expanded Cinema, Film Archives, Museums, and Exhibitions at IULM University in Milan (Italy). Her publications include the monograph La voce in transizione. Cinema, arte contemporanea, cultura fonovisuale (“The Voice in Transition. Cinema, Contemporary Art, Phonovisual Culture”, Mimesis 2023), and several peer-reviewed essays in academic journals. She was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Irvine (2020) and contributed to national and European research projects, including EUMEPLAT – Horizon 2020 (2022–23), and the PRIN project Giallo Atlas. Media History and Popular Culture in Italy (1954–2020) (2023–25). In 2025 she was awarded an Italian Council grant for artistic research. She currently serves on the editorial board of Cinéma&Cie.

Together with students from the master's degree course in Television, Cinema and New Media at IULM University: Martina Barberio, Lorenzo Cantù, Andrea Ceraolo, Maya Conedera, Roberto Fasano, Fabio Lapia, Iolanda Mascetti.