THEME
“Man only plays when he is in the full sense of the word a man, and he is only wholly man when he plays.”
Friedrich Schiller
To play is one of the first ways in which we learn about the world. Through playing, we explore rules, roles, boundaries, freedom, conflicts and possibilities. We form relationships with others, develop shared languages, and learn to lose, to start again, and to imagine scenarios different from those we face.
In this sense, games are very much akin to cinema. Every film asks us to accept a pact: for a set period of time, we enter another world, adopt a different perspective, and experience lives that do not belong to us and yet concern us. Just as in games, cinema too has its rules, spaces, characters, roles and transformations. And just as in games, in cinema too we can suspend reality – not to escape it, but to understand it better.
PLAY/GAME — ‘Let’s Get Involved’ is therefore an invitation to take part. Not to remain passive spectators, not to watch from the sidelines, but to step into the living space of images, encounters and forms of expression. It is an invitation addressed to the public, artists, creators, students, cultural practitioners and the city: getting involved means putting oneself out there, taking a stand, embracing dialogue, learning from mistakes, and recognising imagination as a concrete form of knowledge.
Film, music, theatre, dance, the visual arts, performance and new media thus become part of the same playing field where different disciplines come together, influence one another and, at times, change their own rules.
After thirty years, the Linea d’Ombra Festival is embarking on a new chapter. Not to choose between light-heartedness and depth, but to try to bring them together. Because playing also means questioning the world, challenging what seems already established, and seeking new forms of connection, freedom and transformation.
From 9 to 14 November 2026, in Salerno, we’re giving it a go.
Welcome to the 31st edition of Linea d’Ombra Festival
PLAY