Il filo della storia (Italy, 2026, 53′)

Friday 9 October, 6.30 p.m., Cinema Romano, theatre 1, Galleria Subalpina, Piazza Castello, 9

In collaboration with CNA Torino.

On Friday 9 October at 6.30 p.m. at Cinema Romano, theatre 1, Job Film Days, in collaboration with CNA Torino, presents Il filo della storia by Patrizia Di Blasi. In Coazze, in the Sangone Valley, the history of hemp reveals an entire world of work, from cultivation to weaving and the factories that shaped the area’s economic growth.

Through the voice of master weaver Bruno Tessa, personal testimonies and archive material, the film reconstructs an agricultural and textile tradition. Yet memory also opens a perspective on the future: the film asks whether a hemp supply chain could be reintroduced to generate new products, jobs and more sustainable forms of economic activity.

The director introduces the film, followed by a Q&A. Speakers: Bruno Tessa (master weaver and the film’s protagonist), Flavia Giai Miniet (weaver featured in the film), Anna Nepote Valentin (weaver, Museo Etnografico e Laboratorio dell’Arte tessile lanzese), Federica Baravalle (Secretary, Assocanapa), Tiziana Furegato (Mostra mercato artigianato tessile, Collegno), Giancarlo Carrisi (Heritage & Innovation textile arts project), Mioara Verman (President, CNA Federmoda Piemonte). Moderated by Vitaliano Alessio Stefanoni (Head of CNA Federmoda Piemonte).

Admission: tickets required.

International title: The Thread of History
Original title: Il filo della storia
Director, photography, editing, music, production: Patrizia Di Blasi
Sound: Silvio Penato 
Cast: Bruno Tessa, Federica Baravalle, Grazia Gerbi, Ferruccio Marengo, Flavia Giai Miniet, Cesare Quaglia, Giovanni Battista Appendino 

This documentary recounts the story of weaving in Coazze, a little town in Sagnone valley, Piedmont. Master weaver Bruno Tessa – “born to the sound of the loom”, for whom weaving hemp has been a lifelong occupation – creates a connection between present and past, identifying the thread that linked hemp cultivation to industrial production in the past century. 

The thread of history intertwines various contemporary testimonies, in their approach both to the subject and memory, alongside vintage photos, newspapers, paintings, work at the loom nowadays, and footage of the village, the woods, and abandoned places, while lingering on the role played by women. Words and images contribute to the historical reconstruction of hemp and of the factories connected to it.

Patrizia Di Blasi. Born in Turin in 1974, holding a master’s degree in film history and criticism from the faculty of humanities with a thesis on Christopher Nolan, she has been working at Rai since 2002. With a background in both production and post-production, Il filo della storia marks her directorial debut. Benefiting from lower equipment and production costs, Di Blasi self-produced the film, bringing the project to fruition almost entirely on her own.

Filmography: Il filo della storia (mlf, doc., 2026)