The 36th edition of the Trieste Film Festival returns from 16–24 January 2025. Under the direction of #Nicoletta Romeo#, this year’s festival showcases over 130 films, including Italian premieres, competitions, and thematic sections.
This year’s overarching theme delves into the turbulence of the #Balkans from the 1990s to the present, exploring how families—dysfunctional, fluid, and enduring—serve as mirrors for fractured societies. Romeo describes the festival’s focus on family dynamics as an «examination of archetypal structures that can both trap and redeem.»
Prominent sections include the inaugural «Queer Visions,» which highlights the struggles and triumphs of #LGBTQ+ communities in #Eastern Europe#. Films such as As I Was Looking Above I Could See Myself by Kosovan director Ilir Masanaj and Housekeeping for Beginners by North Macedonian filmmaker Goran Stolevski push boundaries while celebrating resilience.
TSFF opens with Péter Kerekes’ Wishing on a Star, tracing a Neapolitan astrologer’s global journey, and Matthias Glasner’s Dying, an ironic exploration of love and mortality. Closing the festival is Levan Akin’s Crossing, an evocative tale of identity spanning Georgia and Turkey.
Italian premieres dominate the competitive sections. Notable entries include Sergei Loznitsa’s The Invasion, a documentary chronicling Ukraine’s battle for sovereignty, and Bogdan Mureşanu’s The New Year That Never Came, a bittersweet narrative set during Romania’s 1989 revolution. The festival also features a Romanian experimental cinema program, with Radu Jude’s Eight Postcards from Utopia offering a subversive take on Romania’s post-socialist transition.
In the documentary competition, ten Italian premieres feature, offering a diverse array of compelling stories rooted in memory, resilience, and societal challenges. Highlights include In Limbo by Alina Maksimenko, a gripping exploration of a Ukrainian family navigating the Russian invasion, and Trains by Maciej J. Drygas, a striking black-and-white montage of 20th-century railway life crafted entirely from found footage. Romanian filmmaker Isabela Tent presents Alice On & Off, an intimate portrait spanning a decade of a young woman’s struggles with unconventional family dynamics. Other entries, such as At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking by Maja Novaković and Lapilli by Paula Ďurinová, delve into themes of isolation and loss.
This year’s retrospectives include 1945: Is the War Over?, commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end. Additionally, the «Wild Roses» section highlights contemporary Serbian female filmmakers. Iconic filmmaker #Sergei Loznitsa# will receive the Eastern Star Award, while Bosnian director #Ado Hasanović# is honoured with the Cinema Warrior Award.
The festival’s «When East Meets West» co-production forum celebrates its 15th edition, connecting producers, editors, and distributors from Europe and beyond. This initiative bolsters cross-border collaborations and highlights projects from Baltic and Benelux nations.
Select films will be made available online via platforms such as MYmovies and DAFilms, while screenings across Italy continue through the «Trieste Film Festival on Tour» initiative.
For more information, visit: www.triestefilmfestival.it
