An event that cannot be missed is the Critics' Award under the patronage of the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI). Thanks to this prestigious collaboration, this award takes on significant importance for our festival and for all the directors who compete. We are pleased to have you with us this year. Enrico Magrelli _ Film critic, radio and television author. Since the first episode (1994), he has been one of the authors and hosts of the Radiotre program "Hollywood Party". He is artistic director of the Tuscia Film Fest (Viterbo) and of the Italian Film Festival (Berlin). For over twenty years he has collaborated with the Venice Film Festival (consultant, curator of sections and retrospectives, director of Critics' Week). He has written or edited books dedicated to various authors: from Altman to Oshima, from Polanski to Moretti, from Fassbinder to Verdone, from Servillo to Castellitto. Cristiana Astori_ Graduated in psychology, she is the author of the Trilogy of Colors (Tutto quell'black, Tutto quell'osso, Tutto quell'blù, 2011-2014) published by Giallo Mondadori, which was followed by Tutto quell'obscurio (Elliot, 2018) and Tutto quell'violet (Frilli, 2023); protagonist of these thrillers is Susanna Marino, hunter of rare films that really existed. In 1999 Astori received the Ferrero Award for Film Criticism; you currently work for the Libraries of Rome. You have also translated several authors including Jeffery Deaver, Douglas Preston, Richard Stark and the Dexter saga. In the comics field, you published the graphic novel L' amore ci separte – Love will tear us apart (De Falco, 2002), you wrote the script for Dylan Dog Color Fest n. 11 (Sergio Bonelli Editore, 2013) and the steampunk adventures of The Professor (Erredì Grafiche Editoriali). Her collection of short stories The Mouse King and other dark fables (Alacran, 2006) is the first Italian book to which Joe R. Lansdale dedicated a launch sentence. Roberto De Feo _ He is a director and screenwriter. As a director he was chosen in 2016 to represent Italy within the BIENNALE CINEMA COLLEGE. The Nest is his first feature film. Released in 2019, it achieved the box office record as the best horror film debut in Italy. In addition to reaching numerous theaters abroad, the film has its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and is part of the international competition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival. In 2021 he co-directs A Classic Horror Story, produced by Colorado Film for Netflix, which obtained a nomination for the David di Donatello 2022 and the award for Best Director at the Taormina Festival. In 2023 his first horror novel The Innocence of Darkness was published by Sperling & Kupfer, Stephen King's publisher.
