For more than half a century, Jean Gabin’s clear-eyed charm mesmerised audiences. He was the epitome of the French movie star. Indeed, the tragic rebel he personified during the first part of his career made him a precursor to James Dean, the embodiment of a new, more sensitive type of man. But after the war, he started portraying a very different type of character. This selection covers both periods, even if it leaves out some of the masterpieces which have been shown at previous editions of this festival. Here, the focus is on some of Gabin’s lesser known but great films, teaming him with stars like Brigitte Bardot and Simone Signoret.
Curated by Edouard Waintrop

Henry King’s career encompassed all of the major technical developments from the silent era to Cinemascope. One of Hollywood’s most enduring filmmakers, he made 116 films across all genres between 1915 and 1962. King’s style was invisible and economical, whether realising a work of Americana, or a lavish historical drama. Nostalgic and religious, his films are blessed with vitality in each and every shot. They feature some of cinema’s greatest stars, often in their best performances. This retrospective focuses on King’s sound period, but the programme also includes one classic and one rarity from his silent years.
Curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht

Even though he was born into the movie business, Felix E. Feist was always an outlier. It was in 1947 that he suddenly found his niche in the wave of noir that swept over Hollywood. These brisk, low-budget crime thrillers provided him with the template to create a crop of films spiked with verve and violence. He was particularly adept at presenting desperate characters in confined spaces, as seen in The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) and The Threat (1949), the former to be premiered in a new restoration.
Curated by Eddie Muller

This year we have introduced a new section devoted to a very important medium: small-gauge filmmaking and the beloved 16mm format. Film history would look completely different without the possibility of filmmakers using these cheaper formats. Our goal is to project these films in their original format, an experience which has become more and more off-track in recent years. Our first selection of films is intentionally broad and includes film from the 1930s until the 2000s. Prepare yourself for the
pleasure of hearing the rattling sound of a 16mm projector in the theatre!
Curated by Mariann Lewinsky, Sarah Neely and Karl Wratschko

In 1935, with the arrival of Becky Sharp, the first feature-length Technicolor film, colour instantly became a new, richly nuanced means of expression. By screening a meticulously restored version of the film, plus some other Hollywood masterpieces in vintage Technicolor prints – mostly coming from the Academy Film Archive – we will rediscover that sense of surprise. We would also explore Chronocrome Gaumont colour system (perhaps the most beautiful in film history) in new sparkling digital restorations. Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Leslie Caron, Cary Grant, Sean Connery, William Holden, Ursula Andress, and many others await you in shining colours!
Curated by Gian Luca Farinelli

Schermi e Lavagne, the Education Department of the Cineteca, has prepared a special programme for little film-lovers: each afternoon children can discover big and small masterpieces of film history. Among this year’s guests is the Danish animator and illustrator Jannik Hastrup, creator of the adventures of Cirkeline (1967-70), a beloved character that appeared in books, short films, features and television series. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of moon-landing in a series of screenings. Other programmes include a special series about fairy tales for viewers aged 3 and above; a selection of restored Polish short films for children from Filmoteka Narodowa; early films with live music and short films made by young animators at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia of Turin. After each screening, kids can participate in workshops or games inspired by the afternoon’s selected movies.

The best of the new restorations (both digital and analogue) and discoveries from around the world. In this, one of the most popular strands of the festivals, you’ll see the results of years of hard work by film archives and restoration facilities who are dedicated to reviving masterpieces of the cinema. The festival provides the ideal circumstances for guests to discover, or rediscover, great films, presented in the best available copies – which many of these films have been deprived of for decades. Even if you have seen Jean Renoir’s Toni or George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again before, it will feel like you are seeing them for the first time. And if you haven’t seen them before, we are envious of you for this will be a first screening you won’t soon forget.
Curated by Gian Luca Farinelli

Eduardo De Filippo was one of the great figures of twentieth-century theatre, and not just in Italy. He had an enormous impact on the depiction of the family and Italian society. His work as a film director is not nearly as well known. And yet his film and television work contains hidden gems, produced during crucial phases of his theatre career. Eduardo’s cinema, although closely connected to his theatre, is a surprising, original example of Italian artistic culture to be revisited. Adaptations like Napoli milionaria or original works like the two episodes of Marito e moglie and Napoletani a Milano are worthy of being considered Italian classics of the 50s. De Filippo also brought his innovative vision to TV, restaging his plays (or creating new ones), deftly combining experimentation with popular taste.
Curated by Emiliano Morreale, in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II 

Long before making his unforgettable and unique feature films, this co-founder of Cinémathèque française had discovered that “the strange is only what is familiar, seen suddenly in a new light.” Each of Franju’s short films presented here is based on this premise. He enquires into the modern world and it is there that he finds fear and horror. His films speak of science and of death, of destroying the past and the planet, of the wonder of magic, tragedy, and dreams. “I am,” he said, “a realist and therefore a surrealist.”
Curated by Bernard Eisenschitz