Ketticè, an Italian coming-of-age drama starring Monica Bellucci and produced by Luca Guadagnino, took the spotlight at the 79th Locarno Film Festival this weekend, premiering in the festival’s main competition for the Golden Leopard.
Set in Palermo, Sicily, in 2012, during the era of media mogul-turned-politician Silvio Berlusconi, the film follows Giulio, a listless and dissatisfied 16-year-old who drifts through his days with no real enthusiasm for school or any clear sense of his future. His encounter with Ketty, a more self-assured peer, offers him an escape from that monotony, and the two form an exclusive friendship, described as a shared refuge in their search for freedom away from the judgmental gaze of the adult world.
Monica Bellucci, who plays the aristocratic matriarch of the family at the centre of the story, spoke warmly about her experience working on the project. “It’s been a wonderful experience being on this set,” she said. “Giovanni Tortorici is a young director who knows exactly what he wants, and he’s very self-confident, determined, and he made a very personal and really unique film. This film confirms his talent as an auteur. And these two teenagers are fantastic. They’re awesome. They are so natural and so spontaneous.”
Discussing her character further, Monica Bellucci described her as a woman who has lost touch with her own femininity, adding that the role allowed her to explore “the frustration behind the entire perfection of society.” She noted that her character tries to counterbalance that frustration by overeating.
The film marks the sophomore feature from Giovanni Tortorici, a former assistant to Luca Guadagnino, following his acclaimed 2024 debut Diciannove. Tortorici wrote and directed Ketticè himself, relying on an extensive street-casting process to find his two young leads, Salvatore Gallina and Rachele Testagrossa, who play Giulio and Ketty. Monica Bellucci is among the only professional actors in the cast.
Speaking about a scene in the film where a young girl expresses admiration for former Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Tortorici said the moment was drawn from his own life. “I remember I had a girlfriend who would say such things,” he explained. “The girl I knew was refined and educated, and then she would admire Mussolini. It’s a reference to my own biography, but I think it was very symptomatic and significant, and it was representing that age of Berlusconi.”
Reviews out of Locarno have been largely positive. Variety’s review calls the film “an amusing, original portrait of adolescent ennui,” praising Tortorici’s “singular feel for teenage aimlessness embodied in fully drawn characters.” The review singles out Bellucci specifically, writing that her “signature screen presence is a force of nature,” and that Tortorici “finally gives her the perfect canvas to showcase her ironic, camp-adjacent brilliance” as the film’s sharp comedic counterpoint to its central story of teenage nihilism.
The review also praises the film’s visual style, highlighting an inventive slow-motion sequence that snaps back to real time the moment Giulio starts his car and blasts “You Spin Me Right Round” on the radio, calling it emblematic of how the film uses cinematic language to mirror his internal state.
Ketticè is produced by Luca Guadagnino alongside Marco Morabito and Agustina Costa Varsi for Frenesy Film, in association with The Apartment, Memo Films, and Piper Film. The film is scheduled for release in Italian theatres on September 3, 2026, through Piper Film.
With Monica Bellucci earning early praise for a rare comedic showcase and Tortorici continuing to build his reputation as one of Italian cinema’s distinctive new voices, Ketticè looks set to be one of the more talked-about titles to emerge from this year’s Locarno lineup.
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