Guests
Guests of the XXIV edition
Guest of honour
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American director, screenwriter and actor, a central figure in American independent cinema. Born in the Bronx in 1951, he made his directorial debut in the 1970s with low-budget films, before establishing himself with works such as Bad Lieutenant (1992), The Addiction (1995) and The Funeral (1996). His raw and visceral cinema explores themes of redemption, addiction and violence with a radical and uncompromising gaze. Since the 2000s he has lived between Rome and Italy, where he has directed numerous films including Pasolini (2014) and Padre Pio (2022). Guest of honour of the XXIV edition of BAFF.
The guests
Abel Ferrara
21 MarchTeatro Sociale
Elisabetta Sgarbi
23 MarchVarese
Kevin B. Lee
26 MarchCinema Fratello Sole
Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi
20 MarchSan Giovanni Bosco
Sergio Rubini
28 MarchTeatro Sociale
Masterclass
Exclusive encounters with the protagonists of contemporary cinema.
Lecture on Abel Ferrara
An outstanding lecture on the festival's opening guest, Abel Ferrara, given by artistic director Giulio Sangiorgio. The event is designed for students but open to all enthusiasts who wish to prepare for the evening with the American director.
Saturday 21 March, 4:00 PM — Istituto Cinematografico Michelangelo Antonioni
Il gesto delle mani — Encounter with Francesco Clerici
Screening of Il gesto delle mani by Francesco Clerici, which follows the creation process of one of the sculptures by artist Velasco Vitali, from wax to bronze, at the Fonderia Artistica Battaglia in Milan. Followed by a conversation with the filmmaker, who will discuss his work as a documentarian and educator.
Sunday 22 March, 10:00 AM — Istituto Cinematografico Michelangelo Antonioni
Francesco, Giullare di Dio — with Michelangelo Frammartino
On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the death of Italy's Patron Saint, screening of Francesco, Giullare di Dio (1950) by Roberto Rossellini. The film will be introduced by director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was a guest at BAFF in 2025. «Getting to know Roberto Rossellini's cinema today is essential — in his era the great director had already envisioned and accomplished all the contemporary and experimental cinema possible» (Giulio Sangiorgio).
Sunday 22 March, 4:00 PM — Cinema Fratello Sole
Tribute to Frederick Wiseman — Masterclass with Luca Mosso
A tribute to Frederick Wiseman, one of the greatest documentary filmmakers in the history of cinema, who passed away last month. His debut work Titicut Follies will be presented, which captures the harrowing conditions inside the Bridgewater criminal asylum in Massachusetts. Followed by a masterclass on Wiseman curated by Luca Mosso, director of Filmmaker Festival Milano.
Monday 23 March, 10:00 AM — Istituto Cinematografico Michelangelo Antonioni
Afterlives — Encounter with Kevin B. Lee
Kevin B. Lee, one of the world's foremost video essay creators (over 360 productions), is at BAFF with his first feature film Afterlives, which critically examines the historical and digital traces of extremist propaganda, questioning how images of violence circulate, mutate and persist. «An extraordinary opportunity to see the debut film of an artist who reflects on images through images» (Giulio Sangiorgio).
Thursday 26 March, 3:00 PM — Cinema Fratello Sole
Canone effimero — Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio
Turin-based directors Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio will present Canone effimero, already selected at the Berlinale. The documentary is a kind of archive of a vanishing Italy, capturing rituals, places and musical traditions that are being lost. Evocative images and a cinema conceived as a repository of memory.
Friday 27 March, 3:00 PM — Cinema Fratello Sole
BAFF's distinguished guests
Over twenty years of encounters with Italian and international cinema
Mario Monicelli
A tribute to the great master of Italian comedy. An evening dedicated to his career through photographs and previously unseen anecdotes.
Ferzan Ozpetek
Guest of the XI edition, he met the audience during a special evening dedicated to his cinema between Italy and Turkey.
Luciano Ligabue
BAFF 2018 opening night. Encounter with the director and screening of the film Made in Italy at the Teatro Sociale Delia Cajelli.
Enrico Vanzina
Platinum Dino Ceccuzzi Award for cinematic excellence. Public talk "The Cinema He Made and Loved".
Massimo Ghini
Star of the evening with a screening of the docufilm The Rossellinis — A family that is all one movie.
Nada
A conversation about her career between music and cinema, from her performances as an actress to the RAI fiction inspired by her autobiography.
Bille August
Danish director, two-time Palme d'Or winner at Cannes (Pelle the Conqueror, The Best Intentions). International guest of the twentieth anniversary edition.
Marco Bellocchio
Dino Ceccuzzi Award for cinematic excellence. One of the greatest living Italian directors.
Jerzy Skolimowski
BAFF Special Award international guest. Polish director and creator of EO, awarded at Cannes.
Bertrand Bonello
BAFF 2024 Director of the Year Award. The French director of Zombi Child and The Beast presented his first film Quelque chose d'organique.
Maurizio Nichetti
At BAFF he recounted the birth of his poetic and surreal cinema, from Ratataplan to his most recent works.
Luc Merenda
Stracult Award. Icon of 1970s Italian crime cinema.