Cinesorriso Imperia concludes its first edition
The spirit of humor on stage between cinema and new media at Teatro Cavour in Imperia
The first edition of Cinesorriso Imperia has come to a close at the Teatro Cavour in Imperia, a festival dedicated to comedy and humor as tools to interpret our time, bringing together cinema, new languages and contemporary media.
The festival, under the artistic direction of Claudio Napoli for the Cinema section and the New Media section directed by performer and reporter Alessandro Arcodia, animated the city from March 12 to 14 with screenings, talks and moments of dialogue between cinema and digital communication.
The closing night celebrated key figures of contemporary Italian cinema, recognizing artists who, through different languages, have contributed to the evolution of comedy and audiovisual storytelling.
The Best Actor award was given to Paolo Calabresi, one of the most versatile performers on the Italian scene, capable of moving across theatre, television and cinema with a personal style combining irony, depth and strong stage presence.
The Best Actress award went to Matilde Gioli, whose career spans cinema and television. During the festival, she spoke about her unexpected debut in the film Il capitale umano by Paolo Virzì, and the path that led her to increasingly complex roles, including her performance in Fatti vedere, presented during the festival, where she portrays a woman in her seventies through an intense physical transformation.
The Best First Feature award was given to Greta Scarano for the film La vita da grandi, marking her directorial debut. The award was accepted by actor Yuri Tuci, the film’s protagonist, who also took part in a widely attended meeting with students during the festival, creating a dialogue that was both entertaining and deeply moving about cinema and the craft of acting.
Among the most significant moments was the public talk led by journalist and President of the David di Donatello Awards Piera Detassis, featuring Paolo Calabresi, Matilde Gioli and Roberto Proia, producer and screenwriter of Fatti vedere. The discussion offered the audience an opportunity to revisit the beginnings of their careers and reflect on the role of comedy in portraying contemporary reality.
During the conversation, Paolo Calabresi recalled his theatrical training under Giorgio Strehler, and his transition to television with the series Boris, which made him one of the most recognizable faces of Italian humor. With great irony, he also shared anecdotes from pranks performed while impersonating figures such as Nicolas Cage and John Turturro, experiences that later became part of the theatre show Tutti gli uomini che non sono, currently on tour.
Matilde Gioli also spoke about the almost accidental beginning of her career and the path that led her to become one of the most interesting actresses of her generation, moving between cinema and successful television series.
With this first edition, Cinesorriso Imperia reaffirmed the cultural value of comedy as a form of storytelling capable of combining entertainment and critical thinking, restoring the smile to a central role in understanding contemporary reality.
The festival also connects to the historical tradition of Italian humor linked to Western Liguria, a territory that hosted key experiences such as the International Humor Exhibition and the International Humorous Film Festival, contributing for decades to a culture of humor recognized worldwide.
Cinesorriso Imperia was made possible thanks to the support of the Municipality of Imperia, which sees culture and cinema as essential tools for enhancing the territory and fostering dialogue between generations.
