Cinema on the Pista 500: 18 films under the stars in Turin

From July 2 to 26, 2026, the Pista 500 at the Lingotto in Turin will once again host the summer film festival “Cinema sulla Pista 500,” now in its third edition and organized by the Pinacoteca Agnelli and Distretto Cinema in collaboration with the Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the National Museum of Cinema. The event takes place outdoors with evening screenings scheduled for 9:30 PM and returns following the success of the first two editions.

The 2026 program features 18 films screened on a giant screen installed directly on Pista 500, with an arena seating 170 people. The festival is curated by Fulvio Paganin, artistic director of Distretto Cinema, and is organized into six thematic sections exploring various facets of international and auteur cinema, with the aim of offering cross-cutting and non-linear interpretations of film production.

The festival opens with the “Masks of Power” series, dedicated to representations of control and authority. The series explores the theme of power in its opaque, bureaucratic, or ideological dimensions, highlighting dynamics of manipulation and normalization. Selected titles include Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, The Zone of Interest, Fahrenheit 451, and My Father and Gaddafi, which explore the theme through different historical, political, and dystopian contexts.

Next is the Soggettive d’autrice program, dedicated to contemporary female filmmaking. The program includes four screenings: The Abduction of Arabella, Antarctica, Almost a Fairy Tale, Illusion, and A Brief Love Story. The screenings will be attended by the directors, who will engage with the audience and discuss the creative and production processes.

The third thematic section, “Inevitabile Attrazioni,” focuses on relationships and relational dynamics portrayed in cinema as forces that are difficult to control. The program features six films considered pivotal in the history of international cinema: Harold and Maude, The Graduate, The Shape of Water, That Obscure Object of Desire, Amélie, and The Night Porter. The selected works connect narratives ranging from sentimental nonconformity to more controversial and unsettling dynamics, including elements of obsession, desire, and social discontinuity.

The festival also includes three additional sections that expand the scope of the program. The National Cinema Museum’s Restorations, grouped under the title Our Years, are dedicated to the preservation of film heritage and its reinterpretation in restored versions. The Cinema Made in Piemonte section offers a selection of productions linked to the region, including the film *Falene*. A special section, *Marilyn #100*, dedicated to the centenary of Marilyn Monroe, is also planned, featuring the restored screening of *Some Like It Hot*.

The program is further enriched by talks and presentations featuring guests from the worlds of cinema and film criticism. The opening event on July 2 will feature an introduction to *Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto* by biographer Mirko Capozzoni, with a live link to Giovanna Gravina Volonté. In the following days, director Jihan K and producer Valentina Castellani Quinn will speak about *My Father and Gaddafi*, in addition to a presentation of *Milarepa* by director Louis Nero alongside Andrea Rocco of the Sardegna Film Commission Foundation.

The Soggettive d’autrice section features the direct participation of the female directors: Carolina Cavalli introduces *Il rapimento di Arabella*, Lucia Calamaro presents *Antartica – Quasi una fiaba*, Francesca Archibugi speaks about *Illusione*, and Ludovica Rampoldi introduces *Breve storia d’amore*. For the Restorations section, Daniele Gaglianone will speak with Stefano Boni of the National Cinema Museum on the occasion of *I nostri anni*, while Ivan Cazzola will present *Falene* with Paolo Manera of the Film Commission Torino Piemonte.

The closing of the festival, scheduled for July 26, includes a video contribution by director Liliana Cavani for the presentation of The Night Porter, while the final evening features a talk by actress Aurora Ruffino before the screening of Amélie, accompanied by the presentation of her book Volevo salvare i colori.

Cinema on the Pista 500: 18 films under the stars in Turin

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