The 29th Religion Today Film Festival was held in Trentino from September 16 to 23, with the theme Do Clothes Make the Monk? The festival featured 63 films in competition from 37 countries and explored fashion and sustainability, responsible consumption, reuse, and the need to overcome prejudice. Clothing, however, is more than what we wear. It represents what we choose to show others, how we want to be seen, and the often subtle relationship between identity and appearance.
This led the festival to consider fashion as a cultural and social language. As artistic director Andrea Morghen observed, clothing has always expressed spiritual and cultural identity and is also an art form central to cinema.
Behind every garment lie the consequences of a disposable system: pollution, waste, and the exploitation of workers and children in poorer countries. The festival thus offers an opportunity to invite younger generations in particular to reflect on responsible consumption, circular fashion, reuse, and the need to look beyond appearances and prejudice.