Seminar - Cinema Giovane

CINEMA GIOVANE
International Seminar on Documentary FIlm
22 - 26 luglio 2026 - Benevello, Alta Langa

From 22 to 26 July 2026, the first edition of ong>Cinema Giovani – International Seminar on Documentary and Non-Fiction Film will take place in Benevello, in the heart of the Langhe. The title of the Seminar is a clear tribute to Cinema Giovani, the original name of the Torino Film Festival from 1982 to 1999. That experience, in which debut and experimental works coexisted alongside often surprising retrospectives that opened new interpretive paths in cinema past and present, shaped several generations of filmmakers, critics, festival programmers, and cinephiles. Carried by the same passion, boldness, and courage, we want to create an important space for discussion and thought starting from cinema itself, especially documentary film, a privileged language for reading reality because it is able to convey its complexity.

The American Flaherty Seminar and the Portuguese Doc’s Kingdom, which for several years have successfully worked with the seminar format, were the two experiences that explicitly inspired us. As at Flaherty and Doc’s Kingdom, the screenings program will remain secret, and participants will discover the films they are about to watch only when the screenings begin. The screenings will be followed by discussions and dialogues with the people who curated and proposed the program. For this first edition, we asked (whom we thank in advance for accepting our invitation without hesitation) to make their essential and original contribution to shaping the 2026 Seminar. An important role in defining what we believe will be an integral and layered experience will be played by the place hosting Cinema Giovani: Benevello.

Benevello is a small village at the gates of Alta Langa, a territory described by Beppe Fenoglio in and Il partigiano Johnny; the hills of Alta Langa, among vineyards, hazelnut groves, woods, villages, and castles, border the Ligurian Apennines and carry the scent of the sea, and together with Monferrato and Roero they have been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We will organize three open-air screenings, and the three titles will soon be made public; the screenings will be open both to local residents and to Seminar participants. During those days there will also be the town feast, offering seminar participants the chance to understand the territory they are in and enjoy a surprising culinary and wine tradition.
All these elements will accompany the cinema, the films, and the discussions, multiplying the pleasure linked to encounters and to discovering a meaningful place.