Ketticè, Giovanni Tortorici’s second feature, was presented in the International Competition at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival. The film’s cinematography is by Camilla Cattabriga CCS, to whom we extend our warmest congratulations.
Written by Tortorici, the film stars Salvatore Gallina, Rachele Testagrossa and Monica Bellucci, who received the festival’s Pardo for Best Performance. The film is edited by Marco Costa, with costume design by Maria Antonia Tortorici Montaperto.
An Italian-French co-production, Ketticè is produced by Frenesy, The Apartment, MeMo Films, PiperFilm and Rai Cinema, with funding from the Italian Ministry of Culture and the support of the Sicilia Film Commission. The film is distributed in Italy by PiperFilm, while international sales are handled by PiperPlay.
Set in Palermo in 2012, Ketticè follows the encounter between sixteen-year-old Giulio and Ketty, an unpredictable girl who refuses to conform. Over the course of an intense school year, their relationship becomes both a refuge from an adult world incapable of listening to them and a space in which to search for their own identities. Through the story of the two teenagers, Tortorici evokes Berlusconi-era Palermo and the cultural stagnation that, according to the director, defined his generation. The film also explores the power dynamics between young people and the different forms of authority embodied by the family, the school system and the State.
