The 25th edition of the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo (Week of the Italian Language in the World, 13–19 October 2025), promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with its traditional partners in language promotion (MIM, MUR, MiC, the Embassy of Switzerland, Accademia della Crusca, CePeLL, CGIE, RAI, Società Dante Alighieri, and Treccani), is dedicated to the theme: “Italophony: Language Beyond Borders.”
The initiative aims to celebrate the linguistic, cultural, and social space of the Italian language, envisioning a global community united by a passion for our language and a strong connection to Italy.
As part of the SLIM 2025, the Embassy of Italy in Malta, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di La Valletta, the Department of Italian, and the M.A. in Film Studies at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Arts are pleased to invite the public to a special event featuring screenwriter and novelist Lucio Besana.
Currently based in Strasbourg, Besana is one of the co-writers of the critically acclaimed Netflix horror film A Classic Horror Story, directed by Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli. Released in July 2021, the film quickly gained international attention and was named one of the top five horror films to stream by The New York Times.
This conversation will delve into the writing process behind the film, the evolution of Italian genre cinema, the challenges and opportunities of contemporary film production, and the international appeal of Italian storytelling today. Themes of self-reflexivity, cross-cultural creativity, and industry dynamics will also be explored.
The event will be held in both Italian and English and will conclude with a Q&A session open to the audience.