The 42nd edition of the Torino Film Festival swooped into town the last week of November 2024. Known for its lowkey approach to fanfare and its emphasis on showcasing works by first and second-time directors in the feature section, this year’s event made some radical turns. One of the changes was seen in the documentary section featuring Ali Asgari, which expanded to having 16 films in its varied field of competitors
Under the new director Giulio Base, a red carpet was rolled out, and numerous Hollywood luminaries strolled for the gawking public, including Ron Howard, Sharon Stone, and Angelina Jolie. Base promised a “crispy” festival, which he explained as wanting the experience “to be like summer love, in the sense that the people would miss the festival the day after it ended.” In a sense, that’s what most directors would like from their films: a persistence that provokes a lingering desire to ponder and revisit the images and words seen and heard on the screen.