The Tavolara Festival returns: Gallo, Spampinato, and Cabiddu among the stars.

While Gallura enjoys previews of its 36th edition, the Tavolara Film Festival "A Night in Italy" presents its July program, which will take center stage from the 14th to the 19th in San Teodoro, Porto San Paolo, and the island of Tavolara with screenings and meetings with authors, directors, and actors. But that's not all.

The big new feature is the section dedicated to writers and book presentations, curated by Severino Salvemini in collaboration with Olbia's Ubik bookshop and the Tinte Fosche noir festival. It kicks off on July 14th at La Peschiera in San Teodoro with Marcello Fois and his latest book, "L'impero ditrazione," published by Einaudi. On Saturday, July 18th, on the island of Tavolara, Orso Tosco will present "La melancholia del tartufo" (Rizzoli), while the following evening, also on Tavolara, it will be Christian Raimo's turn with "L'invenzione del colore" (La nave di Teseo). The presentations will open the evenings at 8:00 pm.

Tavolara is, above all, cinema. The series of screenings will open on Tuesday, July 14th at La Peschiera in San Teodoro with "Quasi Grazia" by Peter Marcias, based on the book of the same name by Fois, featuring Irene Maiorino, who plays the young Grazia Deledda in the film. On the 15th, the great Gianfranco Cabiddu will perform his "Su Maistu," a tribute to Luigi Lai, an extraordinary Sardinian musician and launedda virtuoso.

On July 16th, the festival will move to Porto San Paolo, in Piazza Gramsci, where Alberto Palmiero's "Tienimi Presente" will be presented. Then, starting the 17th, cinema will come to Tavolara: making its debut in the island's arena is "40 Seconds" by Vincenzo Alfieri, who will be present with actor Enrico Borello. A double screening on the 18th features the short film "Il viaggio di Matteo" by Laura Moretto and the feature film "La salita" by Massimiliano Gallo, who returns to Tavolara as a director accompanied by actresses Roberta Caronia and Shalana Santana, whom he directed in the film loosely based on Eduardo De Filippo's theater workshop.

The festival will close on Sunday, July 19th with the short films "Absolutio" by Olbia native Mirko Decandia and "Gioia mia" by Margherita Spampinato (also featuring actor Marco Fiore). The evenings and meetings with the public will be hosted by Neri Marcorè, Ludovica Nasti, and journalist Alessandra Magliaro. Screenings begin at 9:30 pm (on the island of Tavolara and in Porto San Paolo, tickets cost €2, plus €1 in advance, and can be purchased at the Cinema Teatro Olbia).

Alongside the screenings and meetings, there are also a number of exhibitions: from July 14th to 22nd, Porto San Paolo will host the exhibition "CliCiak 2026," while San Teodoro will host "La terrazza," dedicated to the photographs of Paul Ronald, who, as a still photographer, worked with cinema legends such as Federico Fellini, Ettore Scola, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.