The horror film Italy is submitting to the Oscars, and much more

A new weekly instalment of DECODER, the Il Foglio column edited by Gianluca De Angelis and devoted entirely to pop culture: a veritable atlas to help you find your way around this vast world through all its new releases, whilst also inviting you to delve into the classics and rediscover comics, films, series and games. In short, it’s always finding new entry points that can spark a passion or, why not, introduce you for the first time to a world you may have heard of but never explored in depth. So, once again this week, here are three recommendations, three entry points, three reference points that can point the way through this multiverse of different forms of expression.

A real surprise for the world of comics: “Il diario di Samuel”, published by Terre di Mezzo. A delicate and fragile work which, through the pen and storytelling of Emilie Tronche, recounts all the anxieties, thoughts, loves and fears of a 10-year-old boy. It offers an intense insight into things which, seen through adult eyes, seem trivial, but which are in fact all small yet fundamental steps on that journey of growing up that we are all destined to undertake.

In the world of film and television, the focus is on “L’estranea”, directed by Paolo Strippoli and distributed by 01 Distribution. An Italian horror film with an international scope, it explores familiar themes and genre narratives that are deeply “our own”, whilst at the same time urging us to rediscover a way of making films that, in Italy, we may have somewhat forgotten. It is a film well worth watching and supporting.

Finally, advice from the world of gaming also comes from the world of collecting with the ‘30th Anniversary’ Pokémon card expansion. Featuring nods to the past, tributes and reprints, this is a truly unmissable series for anyone who started ‘popping packs’ decades ago, but one that’s sure to set even novices’ hearts racing. The absolute highlight? No fewer than thirty Pikachu to unearth in the packs, each illustrated by a different artist, in a hunt that goes right down to the very last card (each one more beautiful than the last).

Three works to help you find your way in a world of entertainment and pop culture that is also shaped by artistic and cultural dialogue, featuring icons and gripping storylines. DECODER is here to try to decode the present, including through its new popular myths, piecing together, week after week, feature after feature, a vast map that charts, more than ever before, the infinite nuances and directions of our present. Join us next week for another trio of unmissable titles.