The author of films such as "Metropolitan" (1990), "Barcelona" (1994) and "Love & Friendships" (2016) will be present at the festival to personally introduce his films and engage with audiences about a career marked by elegance, irony, and nuance in portraying America’s urban elite.

Over the past decade, Curtas has dedicated part of its retrospective programming to a critical examination of the contemporary American imagination — from desolate suburbs to the family dramas of the middle class. In this context, Stillman’s work stands out as an unexpected but fitting counterpoint, focused on a narrower yet no less revealing world: that of the privileged elite. With just five feature films across more than 25 years, Stillman has crafted a cohesive, ironic, and deeply human filmography, in which each film acts as a social chronicle disguised as refined comedy.

With a gaze that is both sarcastic and affectionate, the New York-based filmmaker observes his characters — cultured, sophisticated, and somewhat adrift young people — as if composing a constantly shifting group portrait. Through fast, witty dialogue, reminiscent of both classic screwball comedies and the sharp humor of Woody Allen, Stillman dissects the neuroses, contradictions, and affections of a class that, despite its privilege, is not immune to the existential emptiness of the modern world.

His films move fluidly across genres — from romantic comedy to musical, period drama to coming-of-age story — but always return to a central theme: the tension between tradition and change, the end of a certain world and the uncertainty of what comes next. Whether in the debutante ballrooms of "Metropolitan" (1990), the dance floors of "The Last Days of Disco" (1998), or the aristocratic intrigues of "Love & Friendships" (2016), there is always a bittersweet sense of farewell, as if we were witnessing the last days of an era.

The Whit Stillman retrospective offers a rare opportunity to rediscover one of the most distinctive voices in American independent cinema — a filmmaker who, with humor, intelligence, and subtlety, continues to map the cultural and social transformations of our time.