What Comes from Sitting in Silence? (France, United States, South Korea, Switzerland, 2026, 77’)

Italian subtitles

Thursday 8 October, 6.30 p.m., Cinema Romano, Screen 1, Galleria Subalpina, Piazza Castello, 9

In collaboration with Ordine degli Avvocati di Torino and Magistratura democratica.

On Thursday 8 October at 6.30 p.m. at Cinema Romano, Job Film Days, in collaboration with Ordine degli Avvocati di Torino and Magistratura democratica, presents the Italian premiere of What Comes from Sitting in Silence?by Sophie Schrago.

In Mumbai, Judge Khatoon has established a women’s Islamic court to offer women a space in which to report the violence they have suffered and seek justice, challenging conservative social structures. The film’s political dimension particularly impressed the jury at the 2026 Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, which awarded it the National Competition Jury Prize with the following citation: “The film addresses a difficult reality with extraordinary empathy for its courageous protagonists, who strive to preserve their personal integrity.2

The director introduces the film, followed by a Q&A. Speakers: Cesarina Manassero (lawyer and Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee, Ordine Avvocati Torino), Dafne Koumentakis (Council Member, Ordine Avvocati Torino), Giulia Locati (judge, Turin Court of Appeal).

Admission: tickets required.

International Title: What Comes from Sitting in Silence?
Original Title: What Comes from Sitting in Silence?
Director, Screenplay, Cinematography: Sophie Schrago
Editing: Isidore Bethel
Sound: Romain Ozanne, Pierre George
Production: Hutong Productions, Seesaw Pictures

In Mumbai, Judge Khatoon has opened the first Islamic women’s court to welcome – in defiance of conservative forces – women who come to report the violence they have suffered at the hands of their husbands and to seek justice. The room serving as the courtroom is small, and the director finds the perfect vantage point to film the meetings, the reactions, and the words of Khatoon, the women, and their family members summoned to resolve the issues. There are many different stories, but ultimately they are similar. Eventually, the judge turns to Sophie and asks her what it was like to follow her for so long. Sophie confesses that she, too, was a victim of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend.

Shot almost entirely inside the courtroom, the film won the Jury Prize in the national competition at the 2026 Visions du réel festival in Nyon and is now having its Italian premiere.

Sophie Schrago. A Swiss-Indian filmmaker and anthropologist, she spent her childhood between Geneva and Barrackpore. In 2017, she received a Ph.D. in social anthropology with a dissertation on the relationship between religious authority and gender in India. Before making her feature film debut with What Comes from Sitting in Silence?, she directed several short films exploring religion, queerness, music, and social movements to examine how people navigate power, belonging, and tradition in a changing world.

Filmography (partial): Malcolm X and the Sudanese (short film, documentary, 2020), What Comes from Sitting in Silence? (documentary, 2026).