Artecinema International Festival Of Films On Contemporary Art 30th Edition

Opening Night: Thursday, October 9, 2025
 Naples — Teatro San Carlo

October 10 — 12, 2025
 Naples — Teatro Augusteo

The 30th edition of the Artecinema Festival, conceived and directed by Laura Trisorio, will take place in Naples from October 9 to 12, showcasing art in all its forms: experienced, photographed, and filmed in 360 degrees.
 The opening night will be held on October 9 (8:00 pm) — as per tradition — at the Teatro di San Carlo, featuring the Italian premiere of Jean Cocteau, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland. The film is a poetic portrait of the visionary French artist. Through his own words and extensive archival materials, it explores his boundless creativity in poetry, cinema, art, and theater.

The festival will present 27 films from countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, many of them world, European, or Italian premieres. Featured artists this year include: Francesco Arena, Marco Bagnoli, Louise Bourgeois, Sophie Calle, Vija Celmins, Jean Cocteau, Ernest Cole, Iran do Espirito Santo, Katharina Grosse, Frida Kahlo, Tadashi Kawamata, Christiane Löhr, Shirin Neshat, Martin Parr, Howardena Pindell, Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo), Dyani White Hawk. In the architecture section, the program features a film on Cini Boeri, pioneer of Italian architecture, a documentary on Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, and Nuvola. Un progetto aperto alla città, dedicated to the Lavazza group’s multifunctional Nuvola space in Turin, which explores the idea of social architecture.

Artecinema 2025 raises questions and doubts about major themes in contemporary art: Alreadymade by Barbara Visser questions the authorship of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, highlighting theories that attribute the work to a woman, Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven; Louise Bourgeois, la sculpture et colère by Marie-Eve De Grave (Italian premiere) retraces the life and career of the artist through her own words and voice. It also tells the story of a divided and combative woman who confronted her inner demons and challenged a predominantly male and exclusive art world. Frida by Carla Gutiérrez is an intimate journey into the life of Frida Kahlo, narrated for the first time in her own words, drawn from her diary, letters, essays, and interviews.

The festival also turns its gaze toward social issues, key figures, and urgent topics of our present: I Am Martin Parr is a feature-length film chronicling the career and stylistic evolution of an artist who revolutionized contemporary photography; Ernest Cole: Lost and Found retraces the story of the South African photographer who was the first to denounce the horrors of Apartheid; Minted explores the fascinating and controversial world of the NFT digital art market, from the explosive 2021 boom, which reached billions of dollars, to its dramatic collapse in 2022. The highs and lows of this phenomenon are told through the perspectives of artists worldwide. Drew De Pinto’s film on the exhibition Nothing New (2023–2024) at New York’s New Museum by trans artist Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo) explores identity, visibility, and the future of trans women, alternating intimacy with public exposure. Napalm Girl by Valeria Parisi retraces the story of the iconic image of a child fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. Through personal testimonies and historical context, the film explores the photograph’s enduring impact on public perception of war and on the lives of those scarred by conflict.

Founded in 1996 from an idea by Laura Trisorio, Artecinema has become over time one of the most eagerly awaited events for national and international audiences, especially for enthusiasts of contemporary art, architecture, and photography of all ages, for young people, and for all those who wish to approach the art world from within, through the lens of filmmakers and the voices of the artists portrayed in the documentaries.
 In thirty years, Artecinema has screened more than 800 documentaries and collaborated with over 600 artists, directors, and producers from all over the world.

All screenings are presented in their original language with Italian subtitles.
 As every year, numerous film protagonists — directors, producers, artists, and collectors — will take part in the festival.

Beyond the theaters, thanks to Artecinema’s social initiatives, the event will also reach many young people from primary and secondary schools in Naples’ peripheral areas, university students, and the inmates of the Nisida juvenile prison.

From September 15, the full program, the online catalog with film synopses, and directors’ biographies will be available at www.artecinema.com.

ARTECINEMA
International Festival of Films on Contemporary Art
30th Edition
curated by Laura Trisorio

Opening night: Thursday, October 9, 2025 | Teatro San Carlo, Via San Carlo 98, Naples
 Tickets available at teatrosancarlo.it or directly at the box office (from late September).

In-person screenings:
October 10 – 11 – 12 | Teatro Augusteo, Piazzetta Duca D'Aosta, 263, Naples
Free admission

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Francesco d’Agnese
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Roberto Paolo Ormanni
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