Hugo in Venice – A Yearning to Be of No Use
by Stefano Knuchel

Special event

Hugo in Venice – A Yearning to Be of No Use Il desiderio di essere inutile – Hugo a Venezia

Directed by Stefano Knuchel
Switzerland 2026
Runtime 100'

A journey through Venice, the Pacific Ocean, and Switzerland retraces Hugo Pratt’s life as an initiatory path shaped by memory, myth, and water. Or perhaps that life was merely a dream of Corto Maltese? Crossing lagoons, oceans, and inner landscapes, the film explores storytelling as a passage between visible and invisible worlds.

SIC 2026 - Hugo in Venice

Directed by
Stefano Knuchel

Screenplay
Stefano Knuchel

Cinematography
Ariel Salati

Editing
Stefano Knuchel

Music
Stefano Knuchel

Sound
Tommaso Dugato

Cast
Patrizia Zanotti, Dominique Petitfaux, Thierry Thomas, Marco Steiner

Production
Vittoria Fiumi (Fiumi Film)

International Sales
Fiumi Film

SIC 2026 - Stefano Knuchel

Stefano Knuchel (1966) is a documentary director. His Hugo Pratt trilogy comprises Hugo in Africa (Orizzonti, Venice Film Festival), Hugo in Argentina (Giornate degli Autori) and his latest work, Hugo in Venice – A Yearning to Be of No Use. For over thirty years, he was a journalist and cultural producer at RSI. Since 2010, he has headed the Locarno Film Festival’s innovation programmes: first the Locarno Academy, then the Locarno Factory. He also composes film music.

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