CREMONA – «I don’t believe that literature can save anyone or anything, I think that literature in general shouldn’t do anything at all. But perhaps, at least, we can look inside the gaps that it opens up, inside the accounts that it does not put together, inside the time that stagnates and at the same time ceases to exist, perhaps we can resort to words to understand and preserve the complexity and humanity of things and of life, to strip, mock, destroy all the absurd and bloody myths that we have built for ourselves”: he writes Ilaria Rossetti in his The Girls Factory. Because writing/reading, as well as music, comics, photography, theater – everything we call art – helps us read the book of the world, to orient ourselves in life and in the relationships we weave.
A compass, therefore, to find your way on maps. And the ninth edition of the Open Doors Festival is dedicated to maps, scheduled from 23 to 26 May. Organized by the association of the same name, the Municipality and the Andrea Pazienza Comics Centre, the event is curated by Andrea Cisi, Mario Feraboli, Michele Ginevra, Marco Turati And Marina Volonté.
The program is now definitive: the three days of meetings, readings and concerts will also open this year, on May 23rd, from Alterfestival within the festival dedicated to translation (edited by Clelia Bettini and the Cremonese Elena Cappellini, Donata Feroldi And Franca Cavagnoli) which looks at Portugal and obsolete languages and places such as Iran, Türkiye, Kurdistan and Palestine. Far away places, nearby authors: as always the Paf hosts many Cremonese. They are in the schedule Giovanni Catelli with Stories and secrets of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Countries Editions), Samuele Cornalba with Bagai (Einaudi), the musicians Izaya, Koomari, LinFante (Stefano Scrima), i Strawsa young group from Crema-Parma with the Sicilian singer.
They are also Cremonese Marco Ghizzoni with the very recent detective story The blondes of Benaco, Sara Manfrediart director and activist, co-founder of the Cheap collective, who will discuss with ROssella Farinotticurator of Art Week, the cartoonist Sakka (Roberta Sacchi) e Angelo Giuseppe Landiarchitect curator of a volume on his restoration of Palazzo Fodri which will be released in autumn and which will be previewed at Paf.
Finally, he is from Cremona Margherita Bassini (for all the Marghe), protagonist of a photographic exhibition dedicated to urban intimacy at the Archaeological. The widespread exhibitions that will be set up in collaboration with the Lodi Ethical Photography Festival instead look at climate change.
There are three main strands of the event: writing, music and comics. They will be guests of Paf Emanuela Acheonum with his debut novel Tangerinn (And/or Editions), Ilaria Gasparithe pop face of philosophy, with his latest novel The reputation (Guanda), Tuscan Bear with yellow The last penguin of the Langhe (Rizzoli) where by penguin we mean a corpulent inspector, and William WallIrish, author of the disturbing noir Do you remember Mattie Lantry? (Guanda). They will also be there Romana Petriauthor with sharp writing with Everything about us (Mondadori), Marco Lodolia writer who seems to have made Calvin’s lightness his own at Paf con Very little (Einaudi), Ginevra Lamberti who will talk about The well is worth more than time (Marsilio), Antonio Franchini what about The fire you carry inside you (Marsilio) paints a merciless portrait of his mother, Giorgio Sciannavery popular among students thanks to the initiative The Ostrich at school which also touched Cremona with Swithout telling anyone (Einaudi) and the aforementioned Rossetti with The girl factory (Bompiani), a novel of pain, anger and tenderness that addresses the theme of deaths at work.
Davide Sapienza And Lorenzo Pavolini they will go inside In the footsteps of the wolf (Edicycle) while Beppe Tentiborn in 1936, a life discovering the world, will talk about Overland. Life is an adventure (Rizzoli). Sometimes writing makes you change your skin: Rocco Tanica will be at Paf with Poorly chosen writings (The ship of Theseus), while Alessandro Cattelana very popular television face, and Matteo B. Bianchi they will present the project of Accénto Edizioni, their publishing house founded a couple of years ago.
The musical cast is completed with the singer-songwriter Cheriach King and with two musicians who literally have talent in their blood: Paolo Jannacci And Frida Bollani Magoni, who is not even twenty years old. The musical events, in this edition, will be held in the Federico II courtyard and not at Porta Mosa, for years the symbol of Paf. The other places of the festival are the courtyards of the Affaitati buildings for the morning meetings and Guazzoni Zaccaria for the afternoon meetings.
And here is the comic, another cornerstone of the event. Among the guests, the curators of the Italian edition of Revue DessinéeFrench comics journalism magazine, e Marco Steinerhistorical collaborator of Hugo Prattwhich will talk about Corto Maltese and Irene of Boston (Congo Ed.), dialogue between the legendary sailor and a sailing ship who dreams of sailing the seas again. Travel and adventures also with Pietro Scarnera and his graphic novel I travel to italy (Coconino). They also revolve around the comic book galaxy Bianca Bagnarelliauthor of the Paf 2024 manifesto, Francesco Matteuzzi which tells the story for Becco Giallo Funny Thingsbiography of Charles M. Schulz, the father of Peanuts, Frekt (Francesco Olivieri) e Luca Albanese that they will present Ramiro. A lizard’s life (Saldapress), Vincenzo Filosa which is told The Saracen (Rizzoli Lizard) and Sakka e Violet Rocks (Violetta Rovetto), authors of Beyond you (Shockdom), intriguing ghost story.
Two readings, highly anticipated as always. Federica Fracassi will do a reading from the K’s City Trilogy. Of Ágota Kristófa dark fairy tale with the Second World War in the background to which the actress dedicated a project with Fanny & Alexander. Fabrizio Gifuni will instead read pages of Julio CortázarArgentine writer (but born in Brussels) who like few others knew how to use words and this year we remember the double anniversary of his birth (1914) and death (1984).
Above all, one certainty: the Paf will open as per tradition with the Happy News of the Asst Mental Health Department which will host Alberto Vanolo and its The autistic city (Einaudi).
