Doppio Sogno, 26th Edition. One Way Out and Realmente bambini

From Wednesday, July 1, to Thursday, July 30, 2026, “Doppio Sogno” returns—the summer festival curated by the Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione Galleria Toledo, which for twenty-six editions has been taking audiences on a journey through cinema, literature, and critical thought. For the 2026 edition, the event has been revamped and is organized into two distinct programs, hosted at two venues in the metropolitan area: Don Orione and the Reggia di Portici—Pallacorda Area of the Botanical Garden. Two independent sections, two themes, two journeys that engage with one another through the language of cinema and storytelling, while preserving the spirit that has always defined the festival: transforming every screening—strictly in the original language—into an opportunity for discussion, reflection, and sharing.

The common thread linking the two programming tracks will be the readings from the series *LESSICO NAPOLETANO – LO CUNTO DE LI CUNTI*, drawn from the work of Giambattista Basile and performed by actors from the Teatro Galleria Toledo theater company. As the sun sets, each screening will thus be introduced by a storytelling segment that brings words and images, oral tradition and cinematic language, into dialogue.

The first event is Doppio Sogno XXVI – One Way Out, scheduled from July 1 to 17 at Don Orione. Drawing inspiration from the reflections of Edgar Morin, the program presents cinema as an exercise in critical thinking, capable of questioning the present and restoring complexity to a reality increasingly shaped by the speed of the media, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. Through works by filmmakers such as Sidney Lumet, Akira Kurosawa, Elia Suleiman, John Cassavetes, Jean Renoir, and Céline Sciamma, the festival invites viewers to reflect on the possibilities of freedom, transformation, and resistance for the individual in the contemporary world. On July 17, there will also be a special screening of the documentary *Our Island Is the Whole World – A Mediterranean Route to Freedom*, dedicated to the themes of migration and the Mediterranean.

From July 22 to 30, the festival moves to the Reggia di Portici —Pallacorda Area of the Botanical Garden—with “Doppio Sogno XXVI – Realmente bambini,” a series of events dedicated to the origins of storytelling, the power of storytelling, and the educational power of fairy tales. At the heart of the project is Giambattista Basile, author of *Lo cunto de li cunti* and considered the father of the modern European fairy tale. His stories, which inspired Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and, more recently, Walt Disney, serve as the key to reinterpreting cinema as a space where imagination continues to shape our perspective.

The “Realmente bambini” program features a wide range of filmmakers—from Edward Dmytryk to Peter Bogdanovich, from Hal Ashby to Pier Paolo Pasolini, and even the Marx Brothers—all united by their ability to convey, through different styles, the archetypes of the fairy tale, the journey, growth, and discovery.

To complement the festival’s offerings, three special evenings are planned, dedicated to exploring the extraordinary setting of the Royal Palace of Portici. The program includes guided tours of the Botanical Garden, enriched with historical and scientific insights, and a themed aperitif in the Pallacorda area, inspired by the imagination of Giambattista Basile. An experience that weaves together popular science, the celebration of cultural heritage, and the promotion of the region’s culinary and wine excellence.
The event requires a 15-euro fee, and reservations are mandatory, as seating is limited. The all-inclusive package, available exclusively for the three scheduled evenings, includes a guided tour, a themed aperitif, and admission to the film screening.

Doppio Sogno reaffirms its mission to be much more than a film festival: a cultural laboratory capable of connecting cinema, literature, philosophy, and memory, traversing different places and creating new opportunities for encounters between works, audiences, and communities.

With its 26th edition, Doppio Sogno presents a diptych: on one hand, cinema as an exercise in critical thinking; on the other, storytelling as the source of imagination. Two distinct programs, united by the conviction that culture remains, even today, the primary place where our view of the world is shaped.

Between critical thinking and imagination, between reality and fairy tales, Doppio Sogno continues to do what great cinema does best: teach us how to look at the world.

​Cinema box office: 5 euros
Tickets available at the box office and for advance purchase at www.azzurroservice.net
Reserve by email at: prenotazioni.galleriatoledo@gmail.com

Doors open at 8:15 p.m.
Reading from the series LESSICO NAPOLETANO—LO CUNTO DE LI CUNTI
Film screening at dusk

Don Orione Center
Via Donnalbina, 14, Vico Campane a Donnalbina, 10 - NAPLES

MUSA – Royal Palace of Portici
Pallacorda Area of the Botanical Garden
Via Università, 100 80055 – Portici [NA]