Cinema theatres are packed for horror films. It’s drawing people to the cinema, and the box office is reaping the benefits

Times are changing, even in unexpected areas, such as the selection committee responsible for choosing the Italian film to be put forward for the Oscars. ‘Put forward’, because so far there are around eighty nominees from around the world, and perhaps more will be added. Surprisingly, Italy has chosen Paolo Strippoli’s "L’estranea" as its nominee. The shortlist – we’re still talking about international titles – will be announced on 16 December, and we’ll find out whether "L’estranea" will be among the five films competing for the Oscar on 15 March.

Just one statuette. That is all the ‘foreign-language film’ category is entitled to. Unless, that is, the winners manage to take the prize twice or three times – as happened, for example, a few years ago with Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which received the Stella della Mole award in Turin a few days ago. The choice of the film The Stranger came as a surprise.

The selection committee changes, the tastes of the selectors change, and the summer of 2026 has taught us that horror – though director Paolo Strippoli, born in 1993, rejects the label – stands a very good chance. It draws people to the cinema, and the box office benefits. It would be a mistake to look down on it: it will provide the funds to make more films without always having to rely on state funding. This maintains the virtuous cycle between box-office takings and audience tastes.

We are well aware that the phrase ‘makes no concessions to public taste’ has for many years been synonymous with quality. But we are well into the third millennium; to believe that cinema can thrive by catering to the whims of a handful of intellectuals is sheer madness. We are convinced that certain genres—horror, for example—are best enjoyed in a cinema. A cinema full of people jumping with fear is not the same as the sofa at home, with the light on and the remote control at hand to break the tension.

Yesterday, the programme for the Rome Film Festival was announced, running from 13 to 25 October at the Auditorium (one should add ‘Ennio Morricone Music Park’, but nobody ever manages to get that far). It lasts twelve days; the Cannes Film Festival lasts one day less. There is a film competition which we will return to; we need time to examine the titles. The well-known names in the competition are Susanna Nicchiarelli and Kasia Smutniak, as well as Diego Luna, Gustave Kervern and a couple of others.

In the Grand Public section—best approached without the need for prior research—we will see "The Debut" by Jesse Eisenberg: already well on his way to a promising career as a director, here he helms Julianne Moore as a housewife who discovers she is an actress. Then there is "Elsinore" by Simon Stone, a take on Shakespeare that never fails to inspire. Massimiliano Bruno directs one of the funniest and most politically incorrect films of recent years. Death at a Funeral, which becomes A Quiet Family Funeral.