Il Cinema Ritrovato 2025: Favourites & Discoveries

Artists and Models

Il Cinema Ritrovato XXXIX concluded on June 30. With 140,000 admissions, the attendance was comparable to that of the previous edition. However, the scorching temperatures resulted in more foot blisters.

This survey is not a competition but a compendium showcasing what you missed so that you can catch up later. (195 festival attendees have voted.) Your local cinematheques and festivals might consider showing these films if you can convince them that the diversity and adventurous selection is essential for keeping film culture alive. (And good luck doing that!) Those who complain that some strands were not as rewarding as they expected miss an important point: if we do not screen these films, nobody else will.

The festival has screened Battleship Potemkin and One Hour with You, yet they do not appear in any lists. I would like to think this suggests that these films have already been seen and enjoyed as both favourites and discoveries. Still, one person’s obvious title may be another’s revelation. I see that as part of the excitement of what we do. So, please take this list as just a reference—nothing more and nothing less.

There is a sense of purpose in programming Il Cinema Ritrovato, even if it is not immediately apparent to an outsider. Everything is centered on reevaluating the history of cinema, and with that come our political and social ideas and biases. However, the framework is almost always aesthetic—a bad film about a significant subject remains a bad film. Duke Ellington once said there are two kinds of music: the good music and the other kind. In our case, we avoid the "other kind."

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THE POLL

The Garden of Eden

Alonso Aguilar (Costa Rica)

Absolute favourite: Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933)

Major discovery: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Antti Alanen (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Ghazal el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Major discovery: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Frederik Van Allemeersch (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946)

Major discovery: Non si sevizia un paperino [Don't Torture a Duckling] (Lucio Fulci, 1972)

Annouchka de Andrade (France)

Absolute favourite: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Miloš Forman, 1976) (because of Piazza Maggiore)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

José Arroyo (UK)

Absolute favourite: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Major discovery: Delitto d'amore (Luigi Comencini, 1974)

Notes: A further note trying to recap what might be impossible to recap: Aside from fun, friendship, good food, the opportunity of seeing people one loves but rarely gets to see, Ritrovato is about cinema; and my first day home, beginning to sort through the jumble of experiences, these are my initial thoughts: It was glorious to see audiences in love with Katharine Hepburn again. The Lewis Milestone retrospective showed a great range of films and allowed one to get a grip on a career. I adored Naruse before and my love is confirmed. All the restored films I saw were worth restoring and a rare opportunity to be in touch not only with a particular art but with a culture at a particular time (Brazil in the sixties, Sri Lanka in the 70s, Mexico in the 80s – so much to think about). The Cinema Libero strand never disappoints. The intensity of the colour in eye-catching compositions in DUEL IN THE SUN. It was amazing to see ARTISTS AND MODELS, restored and shown in Vista Vision, get applause in the middle of the film as well as at the end (but Jerry Lewis is still Jerry Lewis, though his youth makes him more palatable). Coline Serrau getting lots of love on the big stage at the PIazza Maggiore.. Sadness at being unable to get in to see any of the Nordic Noirs or Willi Forsts. Joy at discovering the work of Luigi Comencini with DELITTO DE AMORE and VOLTATI EUGENIO amongst my very favourite films at the festival. PERFORMANCE becoming a richer better film on a wide-screen with an audience. Sharing the same responses with a young woman whilst watching WINTER KEPT US WARM (and becoming friends after the screening as a result). Oh and I now understand those songs about Silvana Mangano!

Tom Aubry (France)

Absolute favourite: Non si sevizia un paperino [Don't Torture a Duckling] (Lucio Fulci, 1972) + Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975) + Hanno cambiato faccia (Corrado Farina, 1971)

Ladan Azizbeigi (Iran)

Absolute favourite: Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Peter Bagrov (USA)

Absolute favourite: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970) + Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Jennifer Lynde Barker (USA)

Absolute favourite: Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957)

Major discovery: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

Meike Bartlema (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Seisaku No Tsuma [Seisaku's Wife] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1965)

Major discovery: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Arta Barzanji (Iran/UK)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Voltati Eugenio (Luigi Comencini, 1980)

Michèle Bavaud (Switzerland)

Absolute favourite: Stachka [Strike] (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Mary Bell (UK)

Absolute favourite: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)

Major discovery: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Tora Berg (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Stachka [Strike] (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Alicia A. Bergamelli (Netherlands/Italy)

Absolute favourite: Seisaku No Tsuma [Seisaku's Wife] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1965)

Major discovery: Doña Herlinda y su hijo (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1985)

Janet Bergstrom (USA)

Absolute favourite: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

Major discovery: Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935) + Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

Natalie Bernstein (USA)

Absolute favorite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

Matthew H.  Bernstein (USA)

Absolute favorite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

Didier Bertrand (France)

Absolute favorite: Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929)

Major discovery: Sprechendes Hände. Das Taubstummblinden-heim in Nowawes bei Potsdam (Gertrud David, 1925)

Notes: Erotikon is one of the beautiful  love movies of 1929, swan song year of silent cinema, and was enhanced by a wonderful restoration (the print looked far better than previously) and an inspired accompaniment by Gabriel Thibaudeau. I had never heard before of Gertrude David who made in 1925 this very moving, delicate and informative film on blind deaf mutes and the ways to help them to establish communication, years before Arthur Penn's Miracle worker.

Sonja Bertucci (France/USA)

Absolute favorite: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Cassie Blake (USA)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925)

John Bleasdale (Italy/UK)

Absolute Favorite: Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)

Major Discovery: Delitto d'amore (Luigi Comencini, 1974)

François Bobinet (France/Belgium)

Absolute Favorite: Calling Mr. Smith (Franciszka & Stefan Themerson, 1943)

Major Discovery: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925)

Jan Bollen (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Seisaku No Tsuma [Seisaku's Wife] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1965)

Major discovery: The films of Willi Forst (More Forst next year please!)

Notes: Best 35mm (sepia) print: Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone)

Max Borg (Switzerland)

Absolute favorite: the 70mm print of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

Major discovery: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

Didier Bredael (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Major discovery: Komissar (Aleksandr Askoldov, 1967)

Notes: Additional fave: Duel in the Sun (King Vidor) for the amazing restoration and colors.

Mimi Brody (USA)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Olivia Buning (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Miloš Forman, 1976)

Major discovery: Senza sapere niente di lei (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Lou Burkart (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Notes: And, as a perfect ending to the festival, I was able to watch “Moj Syn” (1928) by Evgenij Červjakov just before heading to the station.

Rob Byrne (USA)

Absolute favorite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Benoît Carpentier (France)

Absolute favourite: All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) + Le Pays noir (Ferdinand Zecca, 1905)

Major discovery: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925) + Film (Guido Seeber, Julius Pinschewe, 1925)

Notes: I also feel I should pay a tribute to the remarkable curatorial work for these sections:

- Great Small Gauge: Of Songs and Society. A program where the "spoken word" circulates throughout the popular culture of the second half of the 20th Century.

- Sorrow and Passion: Pre-War Naruse. Film by film, the program sketches a delicate portrait of Japan's morals, traditions, and intimate torments, which mainly affect women.

Flurin Casura (Switzerland)

Major discoveries: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925) + Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone, 1939) + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Absolute favourites (re-discoveries, both): Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935) + Les Grandes Répétitions: Cecil Taylor (Gérard Patris, 1968)

Notes: I'd like to particularly mention the many outstanding live music accompaniments to silent films. André Desponds for the Progetto Samama Chikli (a perennial favourite); the Dreamscope Trio of Matti Bye (celesta, synthesizer), Laura Naukkarinen (electronics, voice) and Eduardo Raon (herp, electronics) for "The Salvation Hunters"; Stephen Horne for "Grass" (another major discovery!); Gabriel Thibaudeau (piano) and Silvia Mandolini (violin) for "Jewish Luck"; Neil Brand for "The Racket" (he even succeeded in making the dreary instrument at Jolly sound just fine - and that's a major feat!); Horne again with Eduardo Raon on harp for "Prem Sanyas" (speaking of discoveries ...); Meg Morleyy for "Body and Soul" (yet another discovery!); and last but certainly not least Alice Zecchnielli (with well-used samples - very elaborate) for "Moj Syn".

Emilie Cauquy (France)

Absolute favourite: Komissar (Aleksandr Askoldov, 1967)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Rinaldo Censi (Italy)

Absolute favourite: La fille de l'eau (Jean Renoir, 1925)

Major discovery: Moj Syn (Evgenij Červjakov, 1928)

Mohamed Challouf (Tunisia)

Absolute favourite: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Ian Christie (UK)

Absolute favourite: Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Not least due to Neil Brand's dedicated accompaniment

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Notes: Of course there were other 'discoveries', but these in more likely places than the 'British B' which produced Sewell's laconic little masterpiece of misfortune multiplied. The early Ophuls - NOT his first film, incidentally - was a delight, showing elements of the 'Ophuls style' from the start. EROTIKON was terrific, greatly helped by Gabriel Thibaudeau's superb accompaniment; and both the Milestone and Hepburn retros delivered great films unknown to me. Too much - as ever - to take it all in!

Edo Choi (USA)

Absolute favourite: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: Die Kopfjäger von Borneo (Friedrich Dalsheim, 1936)

Notes: Flora Gomes's epic revolutionary song Mortu Nega (1988), pristinely restored by the Film Foundation, was a close second to the Beyzaie. Since all three of the above were presented digitally, I'll add my favorite film-on-film screenings: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977, 70mm, Piazza Maggiore), The Girl in the Rumor (Naruse, 1935, 35mm, Cinema Jolly), Cinema at Its Purest - The Goldstaub-Fund (Various, 1905, 35mm, Carbon Arc, Piazzetta Pasolini), Girl with Hyacinths (Ekman, 1950, 35mm, Sala Scorsese)

The most wonderful festival I've ever attended. Bravo!

Gerard-Jan Claes (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Notes: Chaplin remains otherworldly, even 100 years later. It was an incredible experience to watch the new restoration on the Piazza Maggiore with an extraordinarily enthusiastic audience. Rapt was my discovery of the festival: an intriguing mix of cinematic language, partly still rooted in the silent film era, yet infused with realism and avant-garde editing and visual tropes, and an experimental, layered approach to sound.

Phil Clark (UK)

Absolute favourite: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lewis Milestone, 1946)

Major discovery: Hanno cambiato faccia (Corrado Farina, 1971)

Notes: Other favourites include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Performance and Brazil!

Lorenzo Codelli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: A Lörinci fonóban (Márta Mészáros, 1972)

Major discovery: Mordets melodi (Bodil Ipsen, 1944)

Notes: And the whole remarkable Nordic Noir series.

Jo Comino (UK)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: Chaos (Coline Serreau, 2001) [and Serreau in general]

Marius Comper (Romania/UK)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Paola Cristalli (Italy)

Best film: Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946)

Best discovery: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918) + The Greeks Had a Word for Them (Lowell Sherman, 1932)

Notes: Best missed out discovery: all Norden Noir. One of the few really-never-seen lineup was relegated to the smallest theatre. Too bad.

Adam Dawtrey (UK)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: El Grito (Leobardo López Arretche, 1968)

Arnaud Denis (France)

Absolute favourite: Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972) 

Flavia Dima (Romania)

Absolute favourite: Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970) + Sopralluoghi in Palestina per il vangelo secondo Matteo [Location Hunting in Palestine] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1965)

Bryony Dixon (UK) 

Absolute favourite: Woman of the Year (George Stevens, 1942)

Major discovery: La valigia dei sogni (Luigi Comencini, 1953) + Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Stefana Dragan (Romania/UK) 

Absolute favourite: Kafuku kôhen [Learn from Experience, part II] (Mikio Naruse, 1937) + Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Luis Sérgio Person, 1965) + Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972) 

Bernard Eisenschitz (France)

Absolute favourite: Nadare (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

and the whole of Il cinema di Mikio Naruse program.

Major discovery: Uirá, um Índio em Busca de Deus (Gustavo Dahl, 1973)

Notes: The poll's limitations are becoming apparent: too many obvious masterpieces and/or major discoveries - plus the undefinable, a major category in any discussion of film: is Luigi Comencini an absolute favorite (he would probably not have said so himself) or a major discovery? Or has he been both for long? But never mind, that's the name of the game.

Sophie Engberg Sonne (Denmark)

Absolute favourite: Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929) + Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

Major discovery: Nadare (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Matthew Evans (UK)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: Coline Serreau

David Filipi (USA)

Absolute favourite: Rain (Lewis Milestone, 1932)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Notes: Bonkers how had I never watched this before: Saint Joan (Otto Preminger)

Milena Fiore (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

major discovery: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Notes: Per quel realismo magico che accomuna questi due film alla migliore tradizione cinematografica mondiale.

Lukas Foerster (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: Und das am Montagmorgen (Luigi Comencini, 1959)

Caroline Fournier (Switzerland)

Absolute favourite: Du skal ære din hustru [Master of the House] (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1925)

[beautiful film and 35mm print]

Major discovery: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Notes: Other favourites — OPUS II, III & IV, Walther Ruttmann, 1925 (also beautiful print); Rapt, Kirsanoff ; The Decline of Western Civilisation, Penelope Spheeris, 1981. 

A regret: not so much experimental movies this year!!! I missed the experimental section.

Jean-Michel Frodon (France)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Mark Fuller (UK)

Absolute Favourite: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Major Discovery: Aysel Bataklı Damın Kızı (Muhsin Ertuğrul, 1935)

Sara García Villanueva (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: Komissar (Aleksandr Askoldov, 1967)

Geoffrey Gardner (Australia)

Absolute favourite: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Major discovery: The Greeks Had a Word for Them (Lowell Sherman, 1932)

Sara Gazini (Austria/Brazil)

Absolute favourite: São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Luis Sérgio Person, 1965)

Major discovery: Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

Notes: A special mention to the Norden Noir, which was my favourite strand this year.

Silvia Gelmini (France)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major discovery: El espinazo del diablo (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

Libertad Gills (UK/Ecuador/USA)

Absolute favourite: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: Voltati Eugenio (Luigi Comencini, 1980)

Notes: More favourites: Summertime (David Lean, 1955), La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962), El Grito (Leobardo López Arretche, 1968).

Kari Glödstaf (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Major discovery: Nippon senbotsu gakusei no suki: kike wadatsumi no koe (Hideo Segikawa, 1950)

Federico Gironi (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

Major discovery: Senza sapere niente di lei (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Joes de Graaf (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

Major discovery: Stage Door (Gregory La Cava, 1937)

Valerio Greco (Italy)

Absolute favourite(s): The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925) + Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970) + Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Notes: Major rediscovery: 'A Santanotte (Elvira Notari) + Sholay (Ramesh Sippy) + Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt). Also, I would like to mark Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 70mm, the carbon arc screening of Von Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters, the second part of Film Preservation Associates's brilliant restoration project of the 1928 Laurel and Hardy short films, the sections of Lewis Milestone and Luigi Comencini - and in particular for the second the screening of La valigia dei sogni, the film that motivated me to enter into film archiving - the new restorations of Gehenu Lamai, Pink Narcissus, Performance, Moj Syn well accompanied by Alice Zecchinelli, Duel in the Sun, Jay Weissberg's movingly gorgeous reading of Mark Twain during the screening of the short film Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street (1905); the hundred years ago section brilliantly curated by Oliver Hanley with several gems such as Prem Sanyas and Body and Soul, the unique hybrid documentary short Breaking Plates, and the colourful program Fantastic Flowers curated by Elif Rongen-Kaynakçı

Carmine Grimaldi (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Nippon senbotsu gakusei no shuki: Kike wadatsumi no koe (Hideo Sekigawa, 1950)

Major discovery: Die Kopfjäger von Borneo (Friedrich Dalsheim, 1936)

Marco Grosoli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Voltati Eugenio (Luigi Comencini, 1980)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Matthieu Grimault (France)

Absolute favourite: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Notes: Very Special Screening: 'A Santanotte (Elvira Notari, Italy, 1921)

Yaël Halbron (France)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: Sanatorium pod klepsydrą [The Hourglass Sanatorium] (Wojciech Has, 1973)

Oliver Hanley (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Film (Guido Seeber, Julius Pinschewe, 1925)

Major discovery: Festival (Murray Lerner, 1967)

Susan Harmon (USA)

Absolute favorite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Molly Haskell (USA)

Absolute Favorites: All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major Discovery: Flicka och hyacinter [Girl with Hyacinths] (Hasse Ekman, 1950)

Liz Helfgott (USA)

Absolute favourite: All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)

Major discoveries: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986) + Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978) + John og Irene (Asbjorn Andersen, 1949) + Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Notes: Biggest delight: Maskerade (Willi Forst)

Maggie Hennefeld (USA)

Absolute favourite: Breaking Plates (Karen Pearlman, 2023)

Major discovery: The whole Coline Serreau program, "Like a Fish Without a Bicycle"

Notes: Other standouts include Jocelyne Saab's Ghazl El-Banat, Bahram Beyzaie's Safar, the new SF Film Preserve restoration of The Garden of Eden, Strike! on the Piazza Maggiore, and of course Theodore W. Case Sound Test #1: Gus Visser and His Singing Duck.

Florian Höhensteiger (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Opus II, III & IV (Walter Ruttmann, 1921-25)

with the most fantastic score by Laura Naukkarinen

Major discovery: Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933)

Alexander Horwath (Austria)

Absolute favourite: Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955) + Seisaku No Tsuma [Seisaku's Wife] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1965)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988) + Nippon senbotsu gakusei no shuki: Kike wadatsumi no koe (Hideo Sekigawa, 1950)

Marius Hrdy (Portugal/Austria)

Absolute Favourites: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934) + Dread Beat an' Blood (Franco Rosso, 1979)

Maskerade on 35mm with fashion painter Paul Heideneck´s iconic line "Sacherkonfekt" alone wins over any heart by storm---and an incredible 16mm print of Dread Beat an' Blood which made me dance to the dub tunes of Linton Kwesi Johnson in the back of Sala Scorsese.

Major Discovery: Interior New York Subway, 14th St. to 42nd St (1905) + La barba rebelde (Segundo de Chomón, 1905)

Two readings to early cinema in 1905: Jay Weissberg's excellently haunting rendition of an excerpt from Mark Twain's King Leopold's Soliloquy to a train trundling through light and shade shutter effects in Interior New York Subway, 14th St. to 42nd St and the voluminously bearded Andrea Meneghelli reading humourously to La barba rebelde. Chapeau!

Marike Huizinga (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

Major discovery: All Katherine Hepburn films

Pamela Hutchinson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Alexander Jacoby (UK)

Favourite film: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

One of those many marvellous pieces of postwar Italian social history told in dramatic form. I thought this was the richest, most complex and most moving of the Comencinis I have seen, though I shed a few tears at Incompreso too.

Major discovery: L'Inquilino (José Antonio Nieves, 1957)

Discovery: Hard to choose; there were several candidates. The grim narrative logic of John och Irene impressed me, as did the unexpected role reversal in Winter Kept Us Warm. But I think I shall pick L'Inquilino, simultaneously a caustic portrait of a vanished world (Spain under the dicatorship) and a story about an utterly contemporary problem that with minor changes could have happened in modern London or New York. Bonus points for the intelligent restoration incorporating the trailer and scenes altered / interpolated after censorship.

Nick James (UK)

Absolute favourite: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major Discovery: The North Star (Lewis Milestone, 1943)

Notes: The pre-war Naruses provided superb poignant chiaroscuro contrast to the sun outside. Katherine Hepburn dazzled me more in her variety than in any individual film. I wish I’d better prepared for the Nordern Noir, of which I was only able to catch one, the estimable Death is a Caress (1949) and I was glad festival serendipity led me to see Potemkin again and the Alice Guy shorts. 

Finn Jubak (USA)

Absolute favourite: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: O Regresso de Amílcar Cabral (Sana Na N’Hada, 1976)

Daniel Kasman (USA)

Absolute favorite: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Major discovery: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

Notes: Three extra gems: Ghazl el-Banat (Joselyn Saab), Safar (Bahram Beyzaie), Uwasa no musume (Mikio Naruse)

Arash Kermanshahani (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955)

Major discoveries: Uirá, um Índio em Busca de Deus (Gustavo Dahl, 1973) + Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937) + Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Mona Khalifa (Algeria)

Absolute favourite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928) + Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Major discoveries: Aysel Bataklı Damın Kızı (Muhsin Ertuğrul, 1935) + Komissar (Aleksandr Askoldov, 1967)

Jessica Kiang (Ireland)

Absolute favourite: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Notes: I could only be in Bologna for 2 full days of screenings this year, so the fact that I'm happy to fill out the above is really a mark of what a special festival this is, so densely packed with riches. 

Morten Kildebæk (Denmark)

Absolute favourite: Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) 

Major discovery: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Nerina T. Kocjančič (Slovenia)

Absolute favourite: L'Horloger de Saint Paul (Bertrand Tavernier)

Major discovery: Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

Maria Komninos (Greece)

Absolute favourite: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Miloš Forman, 1976)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Chanel Kong (Hong Kong)

Absolute favourite: Ghazl El-banat (Jocelyne Saab, 1985) + Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977) 

Major discovery: Lőrinci Fonóban (Márta Mészáros, 1972) + Bobita (Márta Mészáros, 1965) + Safar (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Notes: Gehenu Lamai (Sumitra Peres, 1978), Les Mauvais Coups (François Leterrier, 1961), and Nyonin Aishu (Mikio Naruse, 1937) for their powerhouse female perspectives and performances; The Salvation Hunters (Josef von Sternberg, 1925) with the Dreamscope Trio, Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975) at the Piazza Maggiore, and Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955) restored from VistaVision, for reminding us of the affirming power of being at the cinema, in person, together. 

Danylo Kostenko (Ukraine/Czech Republic)

Absolute favourite: Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)

Major discovery: Fantastic flowers (short silent films produced between 1906-1920) + Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955)

Marjo Kovanen (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

Major discovery: São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Luis Sérgio Person, 1965)

[This vote was added later, on 15/7/25, and therefore not included in the final tally.]

Mikko Kuutti (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

Major discovery: All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)

Otto Kylmälä (Finland)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Jeva Lange (USA)

Absolute favorite: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935)

Julius Lange (Switzerland)

Absolute favourite: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Major discovery: La spedizione Franchetti nella Dankalia Etiopica (Mario Craveri, 1929)

Phuong Le (Vietnam/UK)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Albert Lee (Hong Kong)

Absolute favourite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major Discovery: São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Luis Sérgio Person, 1965)

Dorota Lech (Canada/Poland)

Absolute favourite: Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929)

Major discovery: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Mark Le Fanu (UK)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major discovery: Esterina (Carlo Lizzani, 1959)

Samantha Leroy (France)

Absolute favourite: Rain (Lewis Milestone, 1932)

Major discovery: Films by Franciszka and Stefan Themerson

Sebastian Lindvall (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Ross Lipman (USA)

Absolute favourite: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Malve Lippmann (Germany)

Absolute favourite: POSTCHI Iran, 1972, Dariush Mehrju + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discovery: Die Rose von Stambul (Arthur Wellin, 1919)

Beatrice Loayza (USA)

Absolute favourite: Chaos (Coline Serreau, 2001)

Major discovery: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Jonathan Mackris (USA)

Absolute favorite: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Major discovery: En el balcón vacío (Jomí García Ascot, 1961)

Notes: Not including rewatches, so no Allotria, Wife! Be Like a Rose, Strike, or Gold Rush (although the new restoration is like seeing the film for the first time again). Most misunderstood: The Paradine Case (Alfred Hitchcock, 1947)

Maria João Madeira (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Kimi to yuku michi [The Road I Travel With You] (Mikio Naruse, 1936)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Ian Mantgani (Ireland/UK)

Absolute favourite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

Chiara Marañón (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: O Regresso de Amílcar Cabral (Sana Na N’Hada, 1976) + Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Miguel Marías (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Major discovery: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Notes: I'm not counting The Gold Rush, which I welcomed in its 1925 version, after hating the 1942 one for years.

David Marriott (Canada)

Absolute favourite: La paga (Ciro Durán, 1962)

Major discovery: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Jeffery Masino (USA)

Absolute favourite: The Racket (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Debra McClutchy (USA) 

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

Neil McGlone (UK)

Absolute favourite: L'Horloger de Saint-Paul (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974)

Major discovery: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Brian Meacham (USA)

Absolute favorite: Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

It’s nice to be reminded that one can still be blown away by the beauty of a film, and an indescribably gorgeous print, every once in awhile. 

Major discovery: La valigia dei sogni (Luigi Comencini, 1953)

The first film I saw at the festival, and a stirring, occasionally shocking reminder of how relatively new the idea of the film archive is. 

Paolo Mereghetti (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

Bruno Mestdagh (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Major discovery: Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Hind Mezaina (United Arab Emirates) 

Absolute favourite: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: Stage Door (Gregory La Cava, 1937) + Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929)

Notes: (Re)Discovery: Summertime (David Lean), after only watching it at home, happy to be able to watch it on 35mm + a favourite shared audience moment when we all laughed together at “Eat the ravioli.” 

Favorite film quote (based on English subtitles):  “I need more experiences and I want to reconstruct my life by myself. I want to know what is the most beautiful thing in the world. I believe that we can see something more important in ourselves this way. I’ll search for it until I find out.” — A Woman’s Sorrow (Mikio Naruse) 

Sad I missed: Masquerade /  Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934) + Tomfoolery /  Allotria (Willi Forst, 1936)

Hats off: For screening The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer) as the closing film of the festival on a Sunday night in Piazza Maggiore. 

Was hoping for: One More Day Of Hepburn like last year’s One More Day Of Dietrich that was scheduled on a Monday post Il Cinema Ritrovato as a way celebrate the end of the festival. 

Daniela Michel (Mexico)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Flicka och hyacinter [Girl with Hyacinths] (Hasse Ekman, 1950)

Jack Miller (US)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Incompreso (Luigi Comencini, 1966)

Olaf Möller (FRG)

Absolute favourite: Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957)

Major discovery: I dimma dold (Lars-Eric Kjellgren, 1955)

Anabela Moutinho (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Die Budenbrooks (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1923)

Major discovery: Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933)

Sanaz Namdar (US)

Absolute favourite: Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Major discovery: Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)

Dominique Nasta (Romania/Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major (re)discovery: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Notes: Riso Amaro is somehow inadequatedly labelled as a neorealist film: it relates to neorealist principles (location documentary-style filming, part of the cast non-professional, a capella songs from local sources, etc.) but it is both thoroughly modern in its handling of a complex reality in often ambiguous ways and powerfully melodramatic in terms of hyberbolic instances and over-playing acting techinques. The impact of American post-war entertainment that Trovaiolo's jazz score magnificently explores, surprisingly matches Petrassi's symphonic one, proving to what extent genre classifications are often reductive. Watching Mangano (17) and Gassman (27) "rock and roll "is worth all the musicals in the world!

Faranak Nateghi (Iran/Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Major discovery: 'A Santanotte (Elvira Notari, 1921) + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Alida Nehme (USA)

Absolute favourite: Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Kenny Nixon (USA)

Absolute Favorite: Sylvia Scarlett (George Cukor, 1935)

Major Discovery: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Bobbie Noë (Netherlands/Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Major discovery: The Red Kimona (Dorothy Davenport, Walter Lang, 1925)

Carlos Nogueira (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

And all the Comencini films about children screened

Major discovery: Otome-gokoro sannin shimai [Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

And all the Naruse films screened in the pre-war retrospective.

Johan Nordström (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

Major discovery: Les Mauvais Coups (François Leterrier, 1961)

Arike Oke (UK)

Absolute favourite: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Eithne O'Neill (France)

Absolute favourite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Major discovery: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Notes: And special mention to discovery The Girl with Hyacinths, Hasse Ekman, 1950.

Vincent Paul-Boncour (France)

Absolute favourite: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Oscar Pedersen (Denmark)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Notes: [Till We Meet Again] It is surprising that Borzage did not set more of his films in convents (although that decision may not have been entirely his to make). The convent naturally lends itself to his modern fairy tales. It is a place where his recurring depiction of spiritual truths and his belief in love can unfold within the communal confines of a religious order. In any case, the result in this film is amazing. 

When the film opens in the convent, the matte-painted backdrops are flat; a symbolic horizon that promises a world more than it actually shows one. As Ray Milland and Barbara Britton embark on their clandestine journey toward the borders, their task is cinematically simple, and therefore beautiful. They break through these flat, painted boundaries and move into new spaces and new sets. They travel from the convent to the lake, to the bus, to the ... In each scene, there is another backdrop to approach and ultimately break free from. They are not only traveling toward the borderlands; they are literally walking at the edge of the film set. There’s magic in all of this.

[Gehenu Lamai] Incredible. An abundance of ornamental decor alternates between covering, framing, and highlighting the characters' faces. The film's structure resembles a gentle wave that washes onto the shore and then recedes, taking with it sand and stones. It begins as a small fiction about two schoolgirls, but as the narrative's soft undercurrent pulls them back, it drags along a few weighty elements of the country's colonial history.

Cici Peng (UK)

Absolute favourite: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Major discovery: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968) + the documentaries of Luigi Comencini

Luca Peretti (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

David Pierce (USA)

Absolute favorite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Notes: The impact of this war drama with religious overtones was completely unexpected. Borzage made a very personal film in what was for him, an otherwise impersonal decade.

Louise von Plessen (Germany)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Jeanne Pommeau (Czech Republic)

Absolute favourite: Du skal ære din hustru [Master of the House] (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1925) + Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: Sprechendes Hände. Das Taubstummblinden-heim in Nowawes bei Potsdam (Gertrud David, 1925) + The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925)

Notes: Best print: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanof, 1934)

Simon Popek (Slovenia)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: Those Awful Hats (Griffith) + La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962) + Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

Laraine Porter (UK)

Absolute favourite: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Major discovery: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Paulo Portugal (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

Note: Although, a short stay this year,  

Also contenders: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes), delightful Lubitsch's One Hour With You and Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front. And, yes, Kafuku (Naruse).

K.J. Relth-Miller (USA)

Absolute favourite: Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Notes: all the Naruses were perfect but Floating Clouds and A Woman’s Sorrows were the highlights. I didn’t include the transcendent experience of the stunning 35mm Technicolor print of Summertime because that felt like cheating (the print is from the Academy Film Archive) but the colors, the vistas, and the deep connection I felt to Katharine Hepburn’s character was life-changing. Mortu Nega screened with the documentary short O Regresso de Amilcar Cabral (1976) and the two together were perfect. The song from the documentary has been in my head for days. And Oliver T. Marsh’s cinematography in Lewis Milestone’s Rain (1932) was a delightful surprise.

Valentina Ricciardelli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Du skal ære din hustru [Master of the House] (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1925)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972) + Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Zoé Richard (France)

Absolute favourite: 3 Hommes et un couffin (Coline Serreau, 1985)

Major discovery: Mordets melodi (Bodil Ipsen, 1944)

Jon Robertson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)

Major discovery: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925)

Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi (Netherlands/Türkiye)

Absolute favourite: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Major discovery: Jahidka kohannja [Love's Berries] (Oleksandr Dovženko/Alexander Dovzhenko, 1926)

Magnus Rosborn (Sweden)

Absolute favorite: Flicka och hyacinter [Girl with Hyacinths] (Hasse Ekman, 1950)

Major discovery: Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935) + Film (Guido Seeber, Julius Pinschewe, 1925)

Jonathan Rosenbaum (USA)

Absolute favourite: Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933)

Major discovery: Flicka och hyacinter [Girl with Hyacinths] (Hasse Ekman, 1950)

Alexander Ross (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Kafuku zempen [Learn from Experience, Part I] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Peter Christian Rude (Denmark)

Absolute favorite: The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discovery: Stachka [Strike] (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Notes: Two of my greatest experiences at this year's Il Cinema Ritrovato took place at the Piazza Maggiore: Chaplin's 'The Gold Rush' and Eisenstein's 'Strike'. 'Gold Rush' I had not seen since I first watched it as a child on a VHS tape. Seeing it again – on the exact 100th anniversary of its original premiere – in a new version that should more closely resemble the version that was first presented to audiences was nothing short of a revelation that made almost everything else at the festival pale in comparison. 'Strike' is one of those classics of film history that it has taken me quite a while to get around to, but discovering it in a fantastic setting together with a packed audience on the next to last day of the festival was certainly worth the wait. The live scores at both screenings greatly contributed to the emotional impact of the films as a testament to the fact that silent cinema is never really silent. If I might add another great discovery to my list, I have to mention the retrospective of the films Naruse made in the years preceding the outbreak of World War II: simple, albeit not simplistic, tales of modern-day life in the Japan of the 1930's with a wonderful sense for characters, environments, and social problems – empathic film making, truly. As someone with a relatively limited understanding of Japanese history, I was also surprised at how present the influence from Western culture is felt throughout the films. To me, this gave the films an almost documentary-like feeling as a look into another historical era.

Céline Ruivo (France)

Absolute favourite: Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929)

Major discovery: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Giulia Saccogna (Italy/UK)

Absolute favourite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972) + Safar (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Kate Saccone (Netherlands)

Absolute favorite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Notes: I was also particularly delighted by the Coline Serreau films that I saw, which were all new to me.

Babak Salek (UK/Iran)

Absolute favourite: Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972)

Major discovery: Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Esa Salovaara (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major discovery: La valigia dei sogni (Luigi Comencini, 1953) + El Inquilino (José Antonio Nieves Conde, 1957) + Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Eva Sangiorgi (Italy/Austria)

Absolute favourite: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Aboubakar Sanogo (Burkina Faso/Canada)

Absolute favourite: O Regresso de Amílcar Cabral (Sana Na N’Hada, 1976) + Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Major discovery: Bambini in città (Luigi Comencini, 1946) + La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Regina Schlagnitweit (Austria)

Absolute favourites: The Grifters (Stephen Frears, 1990) + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Major discoveries: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988) + La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957)

Tamara Shvediuk (Russia)

Absolute favourite: Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

Major discovery: Prem Sanyas (Franz Osten, 1925)

Pedro Emilio Segura Bernal (México)

Absolute favourite: Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935) + Nadare (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Major discovery: Die Kopfjäger von Borneo (Friedrich Dalsheim, 1936)

Reyhaneh Scharifi (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Ghazl el-Banat (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Major discovery: Monsieur Fantômas (Ernst Moerman, 1937)

Beat Schneider (Switzerland)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Kafuku kôhen [Learn from Experience, part II] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Michael Scoular (Canada)

Absolute favourite: Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Josh Siegel (USA)

Absolute favourite: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Francesco Simeoni (UK)

Absolute favourite: Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

Major discovery: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Farran Smith Nehme (US)

Absolute favourite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949) [Italy]

Major discovery: Les Mauvais Coups (François Leterrier, 1961)

Imogen Sara Smith (USA)

Absolute favourite: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985) + Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Notes: I love the echoes that bounce between films at the festival, sometimes linking by chance the most unlikely titles. When I watched Desk Set, the scene where Spencer Tracy gives Katharine Hepburn a series of tricky memory tests (a moment beautifully highlighted by Molly Haskell in her introduction, where she lauded Hepburn's "sexy brain") reminded me of the Memory Game played by the characters in Days and Nights in the Forest, a “magical, mystical miracle” of a film (as Jane Hudson in Summertime would say) that haunted me since I first saw it more than ten years ago. The second most frequently heard phrase in Bologna (after some version of “IT’S SO HOT”) is “What have you seen that you liked?” and after a movie-packed, heat-addled week, this becomes its own form of memory game, revealing what lingers and what fades.

My two “major discoveries” both belong to a type of film I cherish, structured around characters wandering through cities that are “vast image machines” (Charles Simic), filled with wonders and horrors. The films are both poems and protests. I also loved La finestra sul Luna Park by Luigi Comencini, who was new to me. I concentrated on the Norden Noir strand, which could have been subtitled “unhappily ever after” for all its toxic marriages and tormented couples (I especially liked John and Irene), and the effervescent Willi Forst program, which reaffirmed my conviction that Anton Walbrook was the most elegant man who ever lived.

I did not watch many of the Naruse films, since I had just seen most of them in connection with a New York retrospective, but of those that screened, A Woman’s Sorrows is a standout. I most regretted missing Gehenu lamai/Girls by Sumitra Peries.

Jasmine Soliman (UAE/UK)

Absolute favourite: Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

Major discovery: La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957) + The New Yorker Theater (Sergio Maza)

Notes: Unexpected pairing: A number of the Naruse and Comencini shared a focus on children, parental struggles, and familial obligations, making them the perfect double-bill.

Karina Solórzano (México)

Absolute favourite: Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

Major discovery: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962) + Romance sentimentale (Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein, 1930)

Donald Sosin (USA)

Absolute favourite: Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

Major discovery: Edge of Darkness (Lewis Milestone, 1943)

Juan Soto Taborda (Colombia/Spain)

Absolute favourite: Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone, 1939)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972) + La paga (Ciro Durán, 1962)

Notes: A heartbreaking double bill on “lost futures” (in Mark Fisher’s sense).

Federico Striuli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Major discovery: Du skal ære din hustru [Master of the House] (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1925)

Can Sungu (Germany/Türkiye)

Absolute favorite: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Major discovery: Safar (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

[This vote was added later, on 16/7/25, and therefore not included in the final tally.]

John Sweeney (UK)

Absolute favourite: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Just a perfect film, comedy, pathos, spectacle irresistibly combined 

Major discovery: Moj Syn (Evgenij Červjakov, 1928) 

What other Soviet silent focuses on the individual? Extraordinary.

Barbara Tannenbaum (USA)

Favorite(s): Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) + The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)

Major discoveries: Franco and Hollywood (Michel Viotte, 2025) + Strange Journey: The Search for Rocky Horror (Linus O’Brien, 2025)

Notes: see the comment section of the post

Will Tavlin (USA)

Absolute favorite: Stachka [Strike] (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Major discovery: Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie [The Saragossa Manuscript] (Wojciech Has, 1965)

Eve Thompson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Performance (Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg, 1970)

Major discovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

David Thompson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Rediscovery: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Notes: Discovery - None, really, though it was very moving to see DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST  - last viewed on TV in the 70s!

Deniz Tortum (Türkiye)

Absolute favorite: Nippon senbotsu gakusei no shuki: Kike wadatsumi no koe (Hideo Sekigawa, 1950)

Major discovery: Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972)

Ei Toshinari (US/Japan)

Absolute favorite: Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

Major discovery: La paga (Ciro Durán, 1962)

Notes: favorite on 35mm: Summertime (David Lean)

Daniel Turner (UK)

Absolute favourite: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Major discovery: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Matthew Turner (UK)

Absolute favourite: Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

Major discovery: La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962)

Casper Tybjerg (Denmark)

Absolute favourite: Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Major discovery: La Esmeralda (Alice Guy, 1905)

Notes: I also found both The Garden of Eden (Milestone 1928) and Holiday (Cukor 1938) utterly delightful.

Leo van Hee (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970)

Major discovery: Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962)

[This vote was added later, on 15/7/25, and therefore not included in the final tally.]

Nick Verlinden (Belgium)

Absolute Favorite: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Major Discovery: Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

Inês Viana (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Major discovery: Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978)

Cynthia Walk (USA)

Absolute favourite: The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Major discovery: Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934)

Jay Weissberg (Italy)

Absolute favourite: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lewis Milestone, 1946)

Major discovery: Die Kopfjäger von Borneo (Friedrich Dalsheim, 1936) +  Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

Jon Wengström (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934)

Major discovery: Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988)

Notes: Runners-up: The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925) + Moj Syn (Evgenij Červjakov, 1928) 

Jason Wood (UK)

Absolute favourite: Performance (Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg, 1970)

Major discovery: Les Mauvais Coups (François Leterrier, 1961)

Karl Wratschko (Austria)

Absolute favourite: -

Major discovery: -

Notes: I believe that a festival free from competition is the most appealing option, especially since competition already permeates nearly every aspect of our lives.

Artem Zaidman (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985)

Major discovery: The Red Kimona (Dorothy Davenport, Walter Lang, 1925)

Lucile Zheng-Launay (France)

Absolute favourite: Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Major discovery: Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986)

=====================================

MOST VOTED

20 votes

Safar [The Journey] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1972) [Iran]

11 1/2 votes

Maskerade (Willi Forst, 1934) [Austria]

Postchi (Dariush Mehrjui, 1972) [Iran]

10 1/2 votes

Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest] (Satyajit Ray, 1970) [India]

La finestra sul Luna Park (Luigi Comencini, 1957) [Italy]

Gehenu Lamai [The Girls] (Sumitra Peries, 1978) [Sri Lanka]

9 votes

Ghazl el-banat [The Razor’s Edge] (Jocelyne Saab, 1985) [Lebanon]

8 1/3 votes

La ragazza di Bube (Luigi Comencini, 1962) [Italy]

8 1/4 votes

Mortu Nega (Flora Gomes, 1988) [Guinea-Bissau]

8 votes

The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925) [USA]

Rih es-sed (Nouri Bouzid, 1986) [Tunisia]

Riso Amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949) [Italy]

Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) [Taiwan/Japan]

7 1/3 votes

Rapt (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1934) [Switzerland/France]

7 votes

Holiday (George Cukor, 1938) [USA]

6 2/3 votes

Nyonin aishu [A Woman's Sorrow] (Mikio Naruse, 1937) [Japan]

6 1/2 votes

Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944)

Ukigumo [Floating Clouds] (Mikio Naruse, 1955) [Japan]

6 1/3 votes

Strongroom (Vernon Sewell, 1962) [UK]

5 1/2 votes

Dong fu ren [The Arch] (Tang Shu Shuen, 1968)

The Garden of Eden (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

The Scarlet Drop (John Ford, 1918)

5 votes

Les Misérables (Henri Fescourt, 1925)

Summertime (David Lean, 1955)

Tsuma yo bara no yô ni [Wife! Be Like a Rose!] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

4 2/3 votes

The Salvation Hunters (Josef Von Sternberg, 1925)

4 1/2 votes

Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, 1925)

Sterne (Konrad Wolf, 1959)

4 votes

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933)

Stachka [Strike] (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929)

3 1/2 votes

Die Kopfjäger von Borneo (Friedrich Dalsheim, 1936)

Flicka och hyacinter [Girl with Hyacinths] (Hasse Ekman, 1950)

Komissar (Aleksandr Askoldov, 1967)

Nippon senbotsu gakusei no shuki: Kike wadatsumi no koe (Hideo Sekigawa, 1950)

Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)

Seisaku No Tsuma [Seisaku's Wife] (Yasuzō Masumura, 1965)

3 votes

All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)

Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

Les Mauvais Coups (François Leterrier, 1961)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Miloš Forman, 1976)

Voltati Eugenio (Luigi Comencini, 1980)

2 1/2 votes

La paga (Ciro Durán, 1962)

Nadare (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Luis Sérgio Person, 1965)

Du skal ære din hustru [Master of the House] (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1925)

Moj Syn (Evgenij Červjakov, 1928)

Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

2 votes

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lewis Milestone, 1946)

Rain (Lewis Milestone, 1932)

O Regresso de Amílcar Cabral (Sana Na N’Hada, 1976)

Performance (Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg, 1970)

Senza sapere niente di lei (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Delitto d'amore (Luigi Comencini, 1974)

Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)

Mordets melodi (Bodil Ipsen, 1944)

Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946)

Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955)

Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957)

The Red Kimona (Dorothy Davenport, Walter Lang, 1925)

Film (Guido Seeber, Julius Pinschewe, 1925)

Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935)

Chaos (Coline Serreau, 2001)

Stage Door (Gregory La Cava, 1937)

Kafuku kôhen [Learn from Experience, part II] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

1 3/4 votes

La valigia dei sogni (Luigi Comencini, 1953)

1 1/2 votes

Non si sevizia un paperino [Don't Torture a Duckling] (Lucio Fulci, 1972)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone, 1939)

The Greeks Had a Word for Them (Lowell Sherman, 1932)

Hanno cambiato faccia (Corrado Farina, 1971)

Aysel Bataklı Damın Kızı (Muhsin Ertuğrul, 1935)

Sprechendes Hände. Das Taubstummblinden-heim in Nowawes bei Potsdam (Gertrud David, 1925)

Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

1 1/3 votes

Uirá, um Índio em Busca de Deus (Gustavo Dahl, 1973)

A Lörinci fonóban (Márta Mészáros, 1972)

1 vote

Calling Mr. Smith (Franciszka & Stefan Themerson, 1943)

El Grito (Leobardo López Arretche, 1968)

Woman of the Year (George Stevens, 1942)

Und das am Montagmorgen (Luigi Comencini, 1959)

El espinazo del diablo (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

The Racket (Lewis Milestone, 1928)

Incompreso (Luigi Comencini, 1966)

I dimma dold (Lars-Eric Kjellgren, 1955)

Die Budenbrooks (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1923)

Sanatorium pod klepsydrą [The Hourglass Sanatorium] (Wojciech Has, 1973)

Festival (Murray Lerner, 1967)

Breaking Plates (Karen Pearlman, 2023)

Opus II, III & IV (Walter Ruttmann, 1921-25)

Dread Beat an' Blood (Franco Rosso, 1979)

L'Inquilino (José Antonio Nieves, 1957)

The North Star (Lewis Milestone, 1943)

La Esmeralda (Alice Guy, 1905)

La spedizione Franchetti nella Dankalia Etiopica (Mario Craveri, 1929)

Kimi to yuku michi [The Road I Travel With You] (Mikio Naruse, 1936)

Edge of Darkness (Lewis Milestone, 1943)

Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie [The Saragossa Manuscript] (Wojciech Has, 1965)

Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

Prem Sanyas (Franz Osten, 1925)

Sylvia Scarlett (George Cukor, 1935)

Otome-gokoro sannin shimai [Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts] (Mikio Naruse, 1935)

Kafuku zempen [Learn from Experience, Part I] (Mikio Naruse, 1937)

Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)

3 Hommes et un couffin (Coline Serreau, 1985)

Esterina (Carlo Lizzani, 1959)

L'Horloger de Saint-Paul (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974)

Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)

En el balcón vacío (Jomí García Ascot, 1961)

Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949)

Doña Herlinda y su hijo (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1985)

La fille de l'eau (Jean Renoir, 1925)

Jahidka kohannja [Love's Berries] (Oleksandr Dovženko/Alexander Dovzhenko, 1926)

Monsieur Fantômas (Ernst Moerman, 1937)

1/2 vote

Le Pays noir (Ferdinand Zecca, 1905)

Les Grandes Répétitions: Cecil Taylor (Gérard Patris, 1968)

Sopralluoghi in Palestina per il vangelo secondo Matteo [Location Hunting in Palestine] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1965)

Interior New York Subway, 14th St. to 42nd St (1905)

La barba rebelde (Segundo de Chomón, 1905)

Bambini in città (Luigi Comencini, 1946)

The Grifters (Stephen Frears, 1990)

Franco and Hollywood (Michel Viotte, 2025)

Strange Journey: The Search for Rocky Horror (Linus O’Brien, 2025)

Romance sentimentale (Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein, 1930)

'A Santanotte (Elvira Notari, 1921)

Die Rose von Stambul (Arthur Wellin, 1919)

1/3 vote

Bobita (Márta Mészáros, 1965)

1/4 vote

John og Irene (Asbjorn Andersen, 1949)