By Amy Pigeon
The first thing I wrote in my notebook wasn’t a film title.
It was a question mark beside the words AI art exhibit.
A few minutes later I added Patrick Dempsey. Then Ornella Muti. Then architecture masterclass about the Colosseum. Then soccer documentaries. Then foosball tournament?
By the end of the presentation, my notes looked less like a film festival announcement and more like someone had emptied the contents of an Italian cultural fever dream onto a single page.
Which, in many ways, is exactly what ICFF has become.
Despite having attended the festival last summer, this was my first time experiencing the unveiling of the lineup from the inside. As speaker after speaker took the stage, what quickly became apparent was that ICFF’s 15th anniversary is not simply a celebration of longevity. It is a declaration of ambition.
And perhaps its most ambitious year yet.
Running from June 25 to July 19, the Lavazza IncluCity Festival returns to Toronto’s Distillery District with an expanded schedule, additional programming days, internationally renowned guests, immersive exhibitions, architecture masterclasses, live music, soccer celebrations, and one of the most exciting film lineups in the festival’s history. The growth itself feels like a reflection of ICFF’s success. Fifteen years ago, it was a film festival. Today, it feels more like a cultural city within a city.
At the heart of this year’s edition are two internationally recognized icons.
Patrick Dempsey will arrive as Guest of Honour for the festival’s Closing Gala, participating in ICFF’s celebrated “On the Couch With…” conversation series before a gala dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. For many, Dempsey remains forever linked to Grey’s Anatomy, but his career stretches far beyond television, from Ferrari to Dexter: Original Sin, while his philanthropic work through The Dempsey Center has impacted countless families navigating cancer.
Joining him in Toronto will be legendary Italian actress Ornella Muti, one of the defining faces of Italian cinema. Fresh off receiving a Special David Award at the 2025 David di Donatello Awards, Muti will participate in the festival’s closing celebrations alongside the Canadian premiere of Brunello: The Gracious Visionary by Giuseppe Tornatore.
Yet what struck me most about the presentation was not the celebrity announcements.
It was how confidently ICFF continues expanding its definition of culture.
This year introduces AiRTIFICIAL VISIONS, an immersive exhibition housed within Illuminarium Toronto that explores one of the most fascinating questions of our time: what remains uniquely human in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence?
Bringing together internationally acclaimed AI artists from around the world, the exhibition transforms technology from something abstract into something deeply personal. Through 360-degree immersive environments, visitors will explore memory, identity, creativity, and emotion across multiple cultural perspectives. Rather than presenting AI as a replacement for human creativity, the exhibition positions it as a tool shaped by human intention—a conversation that feels particularly relevant right now.
In many ways, AiRTIFICIAL VISIONS perfectly reflects what ICFF has become: a place where art and innovation are allowed to exist side-by-side.
That same philosophy extends into the festival’s Architecture & Design series, which may be one of the strongest programs assembled this year.
Architect Maria Claudia Clemente, co-founder of Labics and winner of the international competition to redevelop Rome’s Imperial Fora and Colosseum district, will lead a keynote and masterclass exploring how contemporary architecture can respectfully engage with history.
Meanwhile, Storia di una Leggenda: Pininfarina will examine one of Italy’s most iconic design houses and its profound influence on automotive and industrial design, while Fugetaboutit follows Montreal street artist Stikki Peaches’ remarkable three-year journey carving Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper from single blocks of Carrara marble—the very same stone that gave the world Michelangelo’s David.
Only at ICFF could a Renaissance quarry, Star Wars, contemporary street art, and Italian craftsmanship somehow coexist perfectly within the same conversation.
And then there is music.
The festival’s free ‘TO’ the Beat concert series returns with more than forty performances celebrating Toronto’s cultural diversity through live music from around the world. Opera lovers will also find themselves drawn to Bel Canto to Billboard, an ambitious performance tracing the evolution of Italian music from Rossini and Puccini to modern Italian pop and dance music. Italian music has always evolved without abandoning its roots, and this performance appears designed to honour exactly that.
Of course, with Toronto preparing to welcome the world for FIFA festivities, football naturally plays a starring role throughout the festival.
The Distillery District will transform into a gathering place for fans through live match screenings, football documentaries, feature films, foosball tournaments, and appearances from football legends including Antonio Cabrini of Italy’s iconic 1982 World Cup-winning squad.
Yet among all the announcements, one film stayed with me long after the press conference ended.
You are Here. A Come From Away Story.
The documentary adaptation of the beloved Canadian story chronicles the extraordinary acts of compassion shown by the people of Gander, Newfoundland, after September 11, 2001, when thousands of stranded airline passengers suddenly found themselves welcomed into a small town that had every reason to say no—and instead chose kindness.
Following the presentation, I had the opportunity to meet producer Peter Gentile, and immediately found ourselves discussing an unexpected connection: my cousin-in-law has spent years portraying a police officer in the Toronto production of Come From Away.
It felt fitting. Because at its core, Come From Away has always been about connection.
In today’s political climate, where division often dominates headlines and borders increasingly feel like points of tension rather than understanding, the decision to include this film feels especially meaningful. It serves as a reminder of something many Canadians already know but perhaps need reminding of more often: generosity remains one of this country’s defining characteristics.
Even more moving, ICFF will welcome individuals from Newfoundland alongside first responders connected to the events of September 11 for the screening.
For a festival built around cultural exchange and human stories, it feels like exactly the kind of moment that belongs here.
As the presentation concluded, I found myself thinking about how difficult it must be to keep reinventing something after fifteen years.
Most organizations become more cautious with age.
ICFF appears to have done the opposite, a notion that Cristiano de Florentiis, ICFF Founder & Creative Director, shared with us adamantly during a candid interview last fall.
Instead of narrowing its focus, it continues expanding it. Instead of becoming predictable, it seems increasingly willing to experiment. And instead of asking audiences to simply watch stories, it continues finding new ways for them to step inside them.
If this press conference was any indication, the next month in Toronto will offer far more than a film festival.
It will offer a glimpse into what cultural programming can look like when curiosity, creativity, and community are given equal importance.
And for a first-time attendee sitting in that audience, it was impossible not to feel excited about what comes next. – VV
Photography from the ICFF website
