Giulio Base began his journey with the Torino Film Festival from the ground up.

At just 17, in 1982, he attended the very first edition, then called Cinema Giovani (“Festival of Young Cinema”) and co-founded by Alberto Barbera. From that moment, he was hooked.

Over the next four decades, as the festival grew in name, scope, and reputation, Base built a career both in front of and behind the camera, earning acclaim for his directing work and gaining international recognition for his theologically themed films. Forty-one years after that first encounter, he returned to where it all began as the festival’s artistic director.

“The Torino Film Festival has always been known as a prestigious, auteur-driven event,” Base says. “That will never change, it is who we are. But I wanted to add another dimension, something more popular, glamorous, and open. I wanted films that appeal not only to cinephiles and students but also to those who might not usually attend festivals. My goal is to preserve Torino’s auteur spirit while making it more accessible and exciting for everyone.”

Base also sought to rekindle the youthful spark that first drew him to the event. He kept the focus on debut and sophomore features while renewing the selection committee, appointing six new members under the age of 30.

“Let’s be honest,” he says with a laugh. “Italy can be a country of old men. I wanted a fresh perspective. Their vision and their approach to cinema helped shape a competition that remains true to the festival’s founding spirit: youthful, daring, and determined to change the world, or at least change cinema.”

Now in his second year at the helm, Base has focused on clarity and curation to create a festival that feels both manageable and memorable.

“Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom” Torino Film Festival

“I am not a fan of overly complicated or cluttered lineups,” he explains. “Some festivals screen hundreds of films, and as a viewer, that can be overwhelming. I prefer quality over quantity. Our festival runs for eight days with three main competitions: features, documentaries, and shorts, each presenting 16 titles. That means two films per day per section. The program is clear, balanced, and easy to navigate.”

A figure of wide-ranging tastes and curiosities, Base holds doctorates in literature and philosophy as well as in theology. His eclecticism is most apparent in the festival’s Zibaldone program, one of his signature contributions. Named after poet Giacomo Leopardi’s celebrated “hodgepodge,” the section follows no single path, blending restorations, tributes, special screenings, premieres, and works connected to the festival’s guests.

Alongside a 24-title Paul Newman retrospective, this year’s Zibaldone will showcase standouts from festival guests such as Terry Gilliam with “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and Alexander Sokurov with “Russian Ark,” interspersed with playful programming that follows broader thematic rhythms.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final film, the festival will screen “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom” exactly 50 years to the day of its first public screening on Nov. 22, 1975.

At the same time, the festival’s artistic director is bringing a similar creative energy to his curatorial vision.

“In English, the term ‘director’ means both the director of a film and the director of a festival,” Base says. “I think that is fitting, because I approach the festival as I would a movie: with a vision, a sense of timing, and a belief in collaboration. For our opening ceremony, both Alexander Sokurov, a Russian honoree, and Sergei Loznitsa, a Ukrainian jury member, will appear on the same stage. For me, that is deeply symbolic. Cinema stands against war. It stands for dialogue, for peace, and yes, for love.”