Now in its twelfth year, Fumetti & Popcorn is a festival that explores the link between cinema and comics, inviting the public to discover the most interesting new releases on the Italian comics scene. Produced by the Cineclub Arsenale in Pisa, directed by Alessandra Ioalè, and as always dedicated to the memory of the comic artist Tuono Pettinato, it will take place in Pisa from April to November 2026 at the Cineclub Arsenale, with a series of summer events at La Nunziatina, and will feature presentations of graphic novels, book signings, meetings with masters and young talents of the ninth art, and screenings of cult films and cinema classics, all with free admission. The illustration for this edition’s poster is by the comic artist and graphic designer Dottor Pira.
Free admission.
The programme kicks off on 16 April with a tribute to Agatha Christie, 50 years after her death, featuring the launch of “Agatha Christie. The Queen of Crime” (BeccoGiallo) and a discussion with comic book artists Michele Botton and Angela Sancono, followed by a screening of Sidney Lumet’s “Murder on the Orient Express”, introduced by Maurizio Ambrosini.
There are three events in May paying tribute to two music legends: ten years after David Bowie’s death, comic book artists Lorenzo Coltellacci and Mattia Tassaro present the graphic novel “Ho lasciato ogni posto – David Bowie in Berlin in Three Acts” (Feltrinelli Comics), followed by a screening of Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”, which celebrates its 40th anniversary, introduced by Alessandro Cecchi; the panel “Visions of the Future – Science and Science Fiction in Film and Comics” will bring together Elisa Macellari and Luca Pozzi, authors of “Loops – Inspired by a conversation with Carlo Rovelli” (Bao Publishing), and the visionary Giorgio Carpinteri, author of “Polsi sottili” and “Aquatlantic” (Oblomov Edizioni), and will be followed by a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, introduced by Fabio Gadducci; finally, to mark the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth, in collaboration with Pisa Jazz, there will be a presentation of “The sound of Miles Davis” (Coconino Press) and a meeting with the cartoonist Paolo Parisi, accompanied by live music from Mauro La Mancusa on trumpet and Paolo Peewee Durante on keyboards, which will conclude with a screening of “Elevator to the Gallows”, introduced by Chiara Tognolotti.
In June, there will be four events, all taking place outdoors at La Nunziatina. As usual, the festival is once again collaborating with the ‘Giorni di Tuono’ Festival with two panel discussions: “From Myth to Comics – The Gods in the Ninth Art”, featuring Rita Petruccioli, author of “Medea” (Bao Publishing), Cristina Kokoro and Eleonora Gatta, authors of ‘Gorgonia’ (Panini Comics), and Prof. Donatella Puliga, co-author with Tuono Pettinato of the illustrated volumes ‘Antìkoi’ (Campanila), and “Feline Iconographies – How Cats Have Shaped the World of Comics”, a discussion with Dottor Pira, author of the graphic novel “Gatto Mondadory. Trilogia della valle Scrivia” (Coconino Press), Juta, author of “Gatto Pernucci” (Coconino Press), via video link Gilbert Shelton, author of “Fat Freddy’s Cat” (Knockabout Comics), and comics historian Fabio Gadducci. Also returning are the “Aperitifs with Italian Comics”, which explore the most important new releases on the Italian comics scene, and which will feature the Trincea Ibiza collective and one of the great authors of Italian comics, Vanna Vinci, with her “Diario di Frida Kahlo” (24 Ore Cultura).
From September, there will be plenty more surprises, as well as new events in the ‘Fumetti & Popcorn Kids’ series, the programme dedicated to children aged between 6 and 10, featuring creative comic-book workshops led by comic-book artists and illustrators of children’s books, followed by themed film screenings, including a tribute to Carlo Collodi on the 200th anniversary of his birth and the presentation of “Pinocchio. Filastrocche a colori” (24 Ore Cultura) with illustrator Alessandro Sanna.
The 2026 edition of Fumetti & Popcorn is organised with the support of Fondazione Pisa and UniCoopFirenze, in collaboration with the Department of Civilisation and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa, Fondazione Tuono Pettinato, Pisa Jazz and Libreria Ghibellina.
Programme and information: https://www.arsenalecinema.com/contenitori/fumetti-and-popcorn-2026
