Pordenone Docs Fest Day 3
On Friday, March 27, the Pordenone Docs Fest comes into full swing with a packed day of events exploring some of the most pressing issues of our time—from women’s rights to the memory of conflicts, from labor to environmental crises.
The morning opens at 10:30 AM with the Italian premiere of Girls Don’t Cry by directors Sigrid Angelika Klausmann and Lina Lužytė. The film explores what it means to be a teenager today through the stories of six girls from different countries and backgrounds, united by their determination to claim their right to self-determination. The event is organized in collaboration with Voce Donna ETS and is free of charge, also open to schools.
At the same time, another important screening will take place, aimed at younger audiences. While not a premiere, it has been included in this year’s program due to the relevance of its subject: Giulio Regeni – Tutto il male del mondo, the first documentary to reconstruct the judicial truth behind the abduction, torture, and killing of the Italian researcher found dead near Cairo on February 3, 2016. On this occasion, a yellow bench will also be inaugurated in front of spazioZero, as a permanent symbol of reflection on fundamental rights and the urgency of defending them.
Also in the morning, NIUDOC 2026 – Where Stories Begin! kicks off, a project dedicated to emerging documentary talents. The initiative offers young filmmakers the opportunity to present their ideas through pitching sessions and one-to-one meetings with producers from North-Eastern Italy and the Balkans. The goal is to foster cross-border collaboration and build a bridge between new voices and industry professionals. The project is promoted by Pordenone Docs Fest together with Lago Film Fest and CNA Cinema Audiovisivo FVG and Veneto, in collaboration with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Audiovisual Fund.
In the afternoon, at 2:30 PM in Sala Pasolini, the Italian Doc Future section focuses on rights and labor. First is The Trials by Marta Massa, which tells the story of Maja T., a non-binary activist detained in solitary confinement in Budapest and involved in the so-called “Budapest Complex,” a political trial linked to the repression of opposition movements in Hungary. This is followed by Macchina Continua by Ruben Gagliardini, which takes the audience to Fabriano, where for centuries the sound of the large F3 machine set the rhythm of life and work. When the plant shuts down, silence becomes a symbol of an Italy that has progressively dismantled its industrial fabric. Both sessions are moderated by filmmakers Alessandro Rossi and Michele Mellara.
At 3:00 PM, the program continues with the retrospective dedicated to the memory of the Spanish Civil War, featuring La vecchia memoria by Jaime Camino, a monumental 1977 documentary that reconstructs the history of the Republic and the conflict through an extraordinary composition of testimonies. At 6:00 PM, the focus shifts to the retrospective on the siege of Sarajevo, with a series of works created during the conflict. Ecce Homo by Vesna Ljubić is a moving urban symphony portraying daily life in the besieged city through sounds, gestures, and images; Les 20 heures dans le camp by Chris Marker tells the story of a group of refugees who create their own news program to reclaim access to information. The program continues with Sarajevo Film Festival by Johan van der Keuken, a reflection on filmmaking in a bombed city, and Waiting for Godot… in Sarajevo, documenting the historic 1993 staging of Beckett’s play directed by Susan Sontag as an act of cultural resistance. Alessandro Del Re will introduce the program.
At 3:15 PM, the Italian premiere of Confessions of a Mole by director Mo Tan will be presented, with the filmmaker in attendance. Returning to China for the New Year after years abroad, she finds herself immersed in family dynamics and her parents’ superstitions, until a breast cancer diagnosis turns the visit into an intimate and painful journey. Blending documentary and stop-motion animation, the film becomes a tragicomic reflection on family, fragility, and the possibility of reconciling with the past.
At 4:00 PM, spazioZero hosts the industry talk “Beyond Borders – Strategies, Co-productions and Opportunities for Documentary,” focusing on international co-productions and collaboration opportunities among filmmakers, producers, and institutions in the Adriatic-Balkan region.
Environmental themes—long central to the festival—take the spotlight with the Italian premiere at 5:15 PM of Melt by Austrian director Nikolaus Geyrhalter, who will be present at the screening. Presented in collaboration with Bolzano Film Festival Bozen and Legambiente Pordenone, the film uses stunning images shot around the world—from Antarctica to Iceland, from Canada to the Alps—to portray the slow yet relentless disappearance of ice, turning landscapes into a visual testimony of climate change. A majestic and deeply moving work that observes melting snow as an irreversible loss for future generations.
After the screening, the now traditional AperiDocs! gathering will take place at spazioZero, accompanied by the music of the Cuerdas Trio, blending classical and electric guitar with charango in a journey through Latin American musical traditions.
The evening continues at 9:00 PM with the Italian premiere of The Beauty of the Donkey by Swiss-Albanian director Dea Gjinovci, presented in collaboration with Amnesty International Italy. The filmmaker will be present alongside her father, the protagonist of the documentary. The film follows his return to Kosovo after fifty years of exile, as father and daughter revisit the village of his childhood, largely destroyed during the 1998 war, and engage the local community in a poetic act of reconstructing memory and confronting historical trauma.
The night then turns into a celebration with a special concert by Arbëreshë, who reinterprets Albanian folk songs through a dialogue between voice, guitar, and traditional instruments. Later, around 10:30 PM, the energy shifts to spazioZero with the vibrant sounds of the Kosovo Wedding Band, bringing the spirit of Balkan traditions to the stage in an irresistibly danceable collective experience.
Finally, the day closes with the Italian premiere of Edge of the Night by Estonian director Vladimir Loginov. The film captures an entire night in the city of Tallinn, following the lives of those who inhabit its quietest hours: crying newborns, street musicians, nurses, night owls, and urban solitude. A poetic and surprising mosaic that transforms the night into a space of dreams, desires, and shared humanity.