Intriguing! One of our own, Paolo Strippoli, whose début A Classic Horror Story (2021) made a real splash in the fright film universe, is now an Oscar contender. The Spiral (the original title is hugely promising: L?estranea, The Stranger?) is Italy's nomination for consideration by the Hollywood Academy. Someone, Jasmine Trinca, made a deal with someone else to save her daughter after a terrible accident. Now it's time to pay the price. The stranger, played by the wonderful actress and bold director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, has come to claim her fee. The whole story involves one of those families who are trying to keep up their elegance, bella figura and composure when all is already lost. And l?estranea is, of course, a figure of refined cruelty. On its way to the Oscars, it will be stopping off at our Festival.

• Italy-France-Belgium
• Direction: Paolo Strippoli
• Production: Marina Marzotto, Mattia Oddone, Jean-Christophe Reymond, Joseph Rouschop, Eva Curia / Propaganda Italia, Rai Cinema, Dinamo Film, Kazak Productions, Tarantula
• Executive production: Marina Marzotto
• Screenplay: Paolo Strippoli, Salvatore De Chirico
• Photography: Cristiano Di Nicola
• Music: ROB
• Edition: Federico Palmerini
• Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Adriano Giannini, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Gabriella Telegrafo