The Torino Film Festival has unveiled a star-studded roster of honorees for its 44th edition. John Travolta, Isabelle Huppert, Pamela Anderson and Josh Safdie headline the list. The festival runs Nov. 24 – Dec. 2 in the Piedmontese capital, Turin.

Artistic director Giulio Base shaped a lineup that mixes screen legends with directors known for connecting with audiences. He kept the event geographically compact, so honorees can meet local viewers at two cinemas just 500 meters apart. That approach reflects his belief that a festival works like an art gallery that people can walk through and experience together.

A Long List of Tributes and Special Guests

Beyond the four headline names, the festival will pay tribute to Luc Besson, Fanny Ardant, Margarethe von Trotta, Stephen Frears and Mike Newell. Maria de Medeiros, Andy Garcia and Mira Sorvino complete the group of tribute recipients. Together, the honorees span decades of European and American cinema.

Special guests will also take part in the program. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Abel Ferrara, Asia Argento, Albert Serra and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi will each present new or classic work. Their presence adds a mix of fresh releases and older titles to the schedule.

As tradition dictates, the festival will hand out 12 career achievement awards. Each trophy takes the shape of the Stella della Mole, the 12-point sculpture that sits atop Turin’s Museo Nazionale del Cinema. The sculpture serves as an emblem of both the city and the festival.

Travolta Opens the Festival

Travolta, one of the first honorees the festival announced, will join director Roland Joffé to open the 44th edition. The two will attend the international premiere of “November 1963,” a drama about the assassination of JFK. Opening night also brings the lifetime achievement ceremony, where Travolta and his fellow honorees will accept their trophies.

The venue carries special meaning for the actor. The Teatro Regio hosted the Turin premiere of “Grease” in 1978, and it will host the ceremony as well. Base described the city’s reaction to that film as a “fever,” a word he used while recalling near riots around the premiere.

“John Travolta is one of cinema’s great legends,” says artistic director Giulio Base. “For half a century, he has moved effortlessly through film history with class and elegance, but he’s never seemed distant. People feel he is part of their family, their history, their lives. Few actors can claim to have altered the very culture, but the way he walked the streets of New York at the start of ‘Saturday Night Fever’ changed the way people moved. I remember how every guy tried to imitate him. That kind of influence is rare.”

Base also spoke about his own bond with the star. He has admired Travolta since childhood, and he even took part in the crush at that 1978 screening.

“Personally, I’ve loved him since I was a boy,” Base continues, recalling the “fever” around “Grease” and the near riots at its Turin premiere. “People were fighting to get in, and I was part of that mass!”

A Populist Streak in Programming

Base now stands three editions into his five-year mandate. During that time, he has encouraged guests to spend as much time as possible with local audiences. He has also gravitated toward luminaries with proven crowd appeal, which gives the festival a distinctly populist streak.

Speaking with Variety ahead of the lineup announcement, Base drew a connection between honorees Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. He described them as filmmakers who “move across worlds, eras and genres with exceptional flair.” He added that both show “the same extraordinary ability to win over audiences.”

Josh Safdie offers a more recent example of that audience connection. The “Marty Supreme” director could not attend the surprise screening of his film at last year’s festival. Even so, that evening remains a touchstone for the kind of communal experience the festival wants to deliver.

What the Lineup Signals

The 2026 program shows how Base wants the festival to feel. Rather than keeping stars at a distance, he places them within walking distance of the public. The two cinemas, 500 meters apart, make it easy for viewers to meet honorees and catch screenings in one outing.

The mix of names also reflects that goal. Hollywood figures like Travolta, Anderson, Garcia and Sorvino share the schedule with European auteurs like Huppert, Ardant, von Trotta and Besson. Special guests such as Ferrara, Argento, Serra and Bruni Tedeschi add further range, since each will present new or classic work.

With the opening-night premiere of “November 1963” and a 12-trophy ceremony at the Teatro Regio, the 44th Torino Film Festival sets an ambitious tone. Base has built a program that celebrates cinema history while keeping audiences at the center. When the festival opens on Nov. 24, Turin will test that vision over nine days of screenings and tributes.

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