by Maximiliano Crocamo
The 27th Trieste ShorTS International Film Festival concluded on July 4 with a masterclass at Teatro Miela featuring actor and director Giuseppe Battiston, recipient of this year’s Premio Interprete del Presente. Moderated by festival artistic director Maurizio Di Rienzo, the conversation explored Battiston’s career, spanning approximately 63 films, some 15 television series, and an extensive body of theater work, before the festival moved to Giardino Pubblico for its closing awards ceremony and a screening of short films from the Focus Slovenia section.
Battiston spoke about his enduring connection to the stage. “It’s where I feel truly free,” he said, describing theater as a space for pure creation, unconstrained by realism. He revealed that he is developing a new production for next year based on a collection of stories by Russian author Sergei Dovlatov and hopes to revive an earlier adaptation of the same material, La Valigia.
The masterclass took place just days after Battiston received a Nastro d’Argento at Teatro Argentina in Rome for Lavoreremo da Grandi, his first collaboration as an actor with director Antonio Albanese. Battiston said he dedicated the award to his former classmates from Milan’s Paolo Grassi drama school, several of whom appear alongside him in the film. He described them as a formative part of his life, saying they “never judged” him.
Reflecting on his roots, Battiston, who grew up near Udine, said he now lives in the hills outside his hometown rather than in the city itself. He described the choice as a way of maintaining a balanced relationship with the broader Friuli region instead of identifying too closely with any one place.
