Abel Ferrara, Stefano Nazzi, Elisa De Marco, Massimo Carlotto, Marco Maisano, Antonio Iovane and Luca Iaccarino are among the first guests announced for the 2024 edition of MystFest.
A week of stories, podcasts, music and cinema dedicated to giallo, noir and true crime.

It will be Abel Ferrara who will open the 2024 edition of MystFest, the mystery and mystery festival scheduled for June 24-29. The American director and screenwriter returns to Cattolica after being there in 1991 in competition with King of New York and with a retrospective of his most important works.

On Monday, June 24, Ferrara will be the protagonist of a unique event-evening dedicated to his career in which it will also be possible to attend the screening of King of New York itself and Tommaso, the film presented in 2021 at the Locarno Film Festival, where he won the Pardo for best director. The extraordinariness of the presence of the great master of cinema also comes in the form of the masterclass he will hold on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 25, which is reserved for a limited number of registered participants.

This edition's cinematic itinerary will also feature a tribute to Roger Corman, who passed away on May 9 and who was president of the MystFest jury in 1995, and the screening of the 4K restored version of the first animated thriller in history, Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon's 1997 debut masterpiece.

The spotlight on the world of podcasts in 2023 will find an even wider stage this year thanks to the partnership with OnePodcast: the evening of Friday, June 28, will feature four of the most followed and beloved podcasters in the audience, such as Carlo Lucarelli, Elisa De Marco, Marco Maisano and Antonio Iovane, four different styles to tell detective stories, investigations, true crime, stories that involve millions of fans and a constantly growing number of loyal listeners.

Among the events in the main arena of MystFest is the grand return of Stefano Nazzi (Thursday, June 27) for a reading from Canti di guerra, the new novel released in early May in which the author of Indagini recounts Milan in the 1970s.

Also returning are the Gialli sotto l'ombrellone, meetings with authors on the beach, the Café in giallo in the city's historic homes, exhibitions, and music, with the live soundtrack of The Mystic, a 1925 silent film directed by Tod Browning, performed by Roberta Sammarelli and Collettivo Soundtracks 2024 (Wednesday, June 26).

Massimo Carlotto, Cristina Rava, Valentina Mira along with Rossella Scarponi are just some of the writers at the festival, for a schedule that from morning to late evening will dye every place in the city with yellow.

The final evening of MystFest, Saturday, June 29, will feature the awarding of the winner of the competition in collaboration with Il Giallo Mondadori 51st Grand Giallo Prize City of Cattolica.

On the same evening, thanks to the collaboration with UlisseFest, Lonely Planet's travel festival, food critic and journalist Luca Iaccarino will be the guest speaker for an immersion in contemporary cuisine and mystery with his new novel Someone is killing Italy's greatest chefs.

The 2024 MystFest image is by Tanino Liberatore with graphic realization by Alessandro Baronciani.

Liberatore's work is naturally intertwined with the exhibition dedicated to Andrea Pazienza The Young Paz! Andrea Pazienza from Pescara and Beyond hosted at the Santa Croce Gallery until the conclusion of MystFest, enhancing the deep bond between the two artists.