A MOVIE THEATER TELLS ITS STORY: THE ODEON
L’INCANTO
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Without movie theaters, cinema as we like to think of it would not exist. Today, the preservation of these vital spaces for artists and audiences is an emergency – and an opportunity that we should not miss. In the heart of Milan, close to Piazza Duomo, the Cinema Odeon opened in 1929, a real gem of a venue for the new medium, designed by Aldo Avati (the famed architect of the Hotel Gallia and the Teatro Filodrammatici) and engineer Giuseppe Laveni. Today, Cinema Odeon is no more, but its story lives on in L’incanto by Tomaso Pessina, with a little help from one of the masters of Italian cinema, Pupi Avati.
L’incanto
L’incanto explores the magic of cinema through the gaze of Pupi Avati, Italy’s master filmmaker, and the story of the Odeon in Milan, a shuttered art deco gem. It’s a personal and visual journey into the past, belonging, and imagination, with animation, archive footage, and reminiscences intertwined to convey the power not only of filmmakers, but of movie theaters themselves, to enchant and transform.
Italy, 2025, 85′, color
direction
Tomaso Pessina
screenplay
Tomaso Pessina
cinematography
Marco Sgorbati
Giacomo Betti
editing
Olga Stopazzolo
Tomaso Pessina
music
Enrico Gabrielli
sound
Eduardo Orsini
with
Pupi Avati
Antonio Avati
Cesare Bastelli
Tomaso Pessina
production
Twin Studio
producers
Elena Pedrazzini
Tomaso Pessina
with the support of
Fondazione AEM
Gruppo A2A
Tomaso Pessina is a director, writer, and co-founder of Twin Studio, a production company that creates content for art, fashion, and culture. After studying film in New York, he wrote and produced documentaries and other films, working with Pupi Avati for many years. In 2019, he directed Emilio Vedova – Dalla parte del naufragio, which screened at Giornate degli Autori and was shortlisted for a Silver Ribbon.
