The sixth day of the TSFF begins at 10:00 in the Cinema Ambasciatori with the Out of Competition Feature Films À BRAS-LE-CORPS/ Silent Rebellion by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo (CH – F – B, 2025, col., 96’), which debuted at the 2025 Venice Film Festival in the “Venezia Spotlight” category. 15-year-old Emma – pregnant after a rape – defies her repressive rural Protestant community to carve a path of self-determination, transforming trauma into a catalyst for emancipation.
Then, at the Politeama Rossetti at 11.30, the Masterclass with Kirill Serebrennikov in conversation with Joël Chapron, a longtime collaborator of the Cannes Film Festival and an expert in Russian and Soviet cinema.
One of the most outstanding figures of contemporary Russian cinema, Kirill Serebrennikov was born in 1969 in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia. He spent most of his youth there and began working as a stage director at the Rostov-on-Don theatres in 1994. He participated in “69”, an amateur theatre company, and directed his first feature film, Undressed, in 1998.. This film was a great success and earned him the favour of the Russian critics. At the same time, he pursued a career as a theatre director and as artistic director of the famous Gogol Centre in Moscow. In 2006, he directed the film Playing the Victim,which won him the Rome Film Festival Prize. In 2008 his Yuri’s Day premiered in Locarno’s international competition. Betrayal, the film he directed in 2012, had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. His next film, The Student, was selected for Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2016. An opponent of Putin, known for his liberal and LGBT-friendly stances, in 2017 he was unjustly accused of embezzling public funds for a theatre group he directed. Despite protests from the Russian and international artistic community, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in 2022 and has since been living in exile in Berlin.
In 2018, Summer,a film that depicts the Leningrad underground rock scene of the early 1980s, competed at Cannes. The film was also screened at the Trieste Film Festival in 2019. Limonov: The Ballad, based on the novel Limonov by Emmanuel Carrère, was also in competition at Cannes in 2024.
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele is his most recent work: based on the novel of the same name by Olivier Guez, it is the first film that Serebrennikov has filmed outside Russia, and was presented at Cannes in 2025.
In 2018, Serebrennikov was appointed Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France for his significant contribution to the arts and literature.
Still at the Rossetti, at 14:00 the Out of Competition section with SHORT SUMMER by Nastia Korkia (DE – F – SRB, 2025, col., 101’), world premiere at the Giornate degli Autori and winner of the 2025 Venice Award for a debut Film. Katya, 8 years old, spends the summer with her grandparents in the Russian countryside. Time stands still, adults remain silent, and a war in the background destroys lives. Meanwhile, kids are growing up and the clouds are flying.
At 14.30 the inauguration of the Documentary Competition at the Cinema Ambasciatori with GRUDZIEŃ/December, director Grzegorz Paprzycki debut feature film (PL – LT, 2025, col., 62’) and Italian premiere.
The arrival of December upsets the existing order. Along with snow and frost, it brings travelers to Europe who receive neither gifts nor welcome, sparking a battle between empathy and indifference. Grudzień, the director’s debut feature documentary, was among the projects selected in 2024 at Last Stop Trieste, and premiered at the last Sheffield DocFest.
At 16:00 SVEČIAS/The Visitor by Vytautas Katkus (LT – NO – SWE, 2025, col., 115’) inaugurates the Feature Film competition at the Rossetti. 30-year-old Danielius returns to his hometown to sell his parents’ flat, but the visit lasts longer than expected. With nowhere to rush, he tries to reconnect with the people and the town that no longer feels like his. Shot on 16mm, it premiered at Karlovy Vary, where Vytautas Katkus won Best Directing.
Simultaneously, at the Cinema Ambasciatori, the screening of feature film and Italian premiere NO ONE WILL HURT YOU by Dino Hodić (CH, 2025, col., 75’), in the Out of Competition category. Thirty years after Srebrenica, a filmmaker who fled to Switzerland as a child embarks on an intimate journey to the roots of his identity through the story of Hasan, one of the few survivors. The documentary had its premiere at the latest Sarajevo Film Festival. At 18:00, always at the Ambasciatori, another documentary in competition: 9-MONTH CONTRACT by Ketevan Vashagashvili (GE – BG – DE, 2025, col., 80’). A Georgian mother resorts to surrogacy to secure a roof over her daughter’s head. What starts as a quick way to earn money, turns into a profound sacrifice. 9-Month Contract, Ketevan Vashagashvili’s first feature-length documentary, was presented at WEMW in 2023 and received the Human Rights Award at the last CPH:DOX.
THE SPECTACLE by Bálint Kenyeres (H – F, 2025, col., 17’); ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG by Lili Koss (BG, 2025, col., 19’), Italian premiere; FOUND&LOST by Reza Rasouli (AT, 2025, col., 17’), also an Italian premiere; likewise DRUMUL SPRE CASĂ/The Road Home by Marian Fărcuț (RO, 2025, col., 16’); TAMO GDE JE NEKAD BILA VODA/Where the Water Used to Be by Vanja Vujin (SRB, 2025, col., 20’) is, instead, a world premiere.
Simultaneously, at the Rossetti will be the screening of a selection of the Short Films in Competition: shorts in competition: THE SPECTACLE by Bálint Kenyeres (H – F, 2025, col., 17’); ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG by Lili Koss (BG, 2025, col., 19’), Italian premiere; FOUND&LOST by Reza Rasouli (AT, 2025, col., 17’), also an Italian premiere; likewise DRUMUL SPRE CASĂ/The Road Home by Marian Fărcuț (RO, 2025, col., 16’); TAMO GDE JE NEKAD BILA VODA/Where the Water Used to Be by Vanja Vujin (SRB, 2025, col., 20’) is, instead, a world premiere.
At 18:00 for TSFF BOOKS, at the Libreria Minerva: Dejan Atanacković, in conversation with Luigi Nacci, presents his book “Lusitania”, winner of the NIN award in 2017.
in conversation with Luigi Nacci, presents his book “Lusitania”, winner of the NIN award in 2017.
In May 1915, under mysterious circumstances, the transatlantic passenger liner Lusitania is sunk. A few months later, Austro-German troops occupy the city of Belgrade, with the exception of the psychiatric hospital. Here, patients and staff, led by Dr. Stojimirović, establish a sui generis state: the Republic of Lusitania, a utopian community whose members declare themselves safe from human stupidity. From this place unfold stories of disappearances and rediscoveries, in a whirlwind of historically accurate events: scientists, architects, and politicians move through hospital corridors, underground tunnels, forests, and cities such as Belgrade, New York, Vienna, all the way to the galleries of the Natural History Museum of Florence. Dejan Atanacković (Belgrade, 1969) is a visual artist and writer who has held solo exhibitions since the 1990s. He has taught in various university programs in Florence and Siena in the fields of visual arts, culture, and literature, including collaborations with the Natural History Museum of Florence. He is the creator and director of projects connecting Belgrade and Florence, focusing on marginalized groups.
DEJAN ATANACKOVIĆ (Belgrade, 1969) is a visual artist and writer who has held solo exhibitions since the 1990s. He has taught in various university programs in Florence and Siena in the fields of visual arts, culture, and literature, including collaborations with the Natural History Museum of Florence. He is the creator and director of projects connecting Belgrade and Florence, focusing on marginalized groups.
At 20:00, the Feature Film Competition continues at the Rossetti, with FANTASY by Kukla (SLO – MK, 2025, col., 98’), a film which is also part of the Wild Roses section, making its Italian debut. Mihrije, Sina and Jasna are best friends who live in Slovenia. They refuse to conform to the conservative system they live in. Their world turns upside down when they meet Fantasy, a transgender woman. They will embark on a journey that explores the complexities of gender, desire, and self-discovery. Fantasy premiered at the latest Locarno FF, at the Sarajevo FF and other international film festivals.
Simultaneously, at the Cinema Ambasciatori, for the Corso Salani Award, making its world debut ON DEFIANCE by Giovanni C. Lorusso (F – I – GM, 2026, col., 75’). In the hidden corners of Serekunda, Gambia, a trash collector caring for his daughter Yama awaits news of his wife, who left them in search of better opportunities abroad. As the days pass, hope almost turns into religion. Lorusso’s previous film, Song of All Ends, was presented at the last edition of the TSFF.
Two films close the day at 22:00. For the Out of Competition section, at the Rossetti, IN DIE SONNE SCHAUEN/ Sound of Falling by Masha Schilinski (DE, 2025, col., 149’). Four girls, Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka, each spend their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the home evolves over a century, echoes of the past linger in its walls. Though separated by time, their lives begin to mirror each other. The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes and was Germany’s nominee for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. Jury Prize at Cannes and Germany’s nominee for the 2026 Oscars, in the Best International Feature Film category. Instead, for the Documentary Competition at the Cinema Ambasciatori, the national premiere of TYKHA POVIN/Silent Flood by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (UA – DE, 2025, col., 90’). Along a beautiful river canyon in Western Ukraine lives a pacifist community with unique religious beliefs, who see their way of life gradually disrupted by floods and an unexpected war. Tykha Povin premiered at Amsterdam IDFA 2025.
