Overview
Alice nella Citta is an independent film festival for young audiences and emerging cinema, held annually in October in Rome. The 24th edition runs October 14 to 25, 2026, parallel to the Festa del Cinema di Roma (Rome Film Fest). The festival is directed by Fabia Bettini and Gianluca Giannelli and organized by Associazione Culturale PlayTown Roma.
The 23rd edition (October 15 to 26, 2025) programmed 11 films in international competition, 6 films out of competition, 6 films in the Panorama Italia audience competition, 3 television series, 5 restored classics, and 43 short films across the Onde Corte sections. The opening film was Good Boy (dir. Ben Leonberg), an independent horror debut.
Alice nella Citta targets films for and about young people aged 8 to 18, a demographic that mainstream cinema underserves. The programming addresses the transition from children's cinema to adult cinema: films by and about teenagers, and films that introduce young audiences to art cinema.
Submission Details
Alice nella Citta accepts submissions through FilmFreeway. Submissions for the 24th edition (October 2026) are open with a deadline of August 11, 2026. The festival accepts both feature films and short films.
Eligibility requirements:
- Films must be suitable for young audiences or created by emerging filmmakers
- The festival seeks "new visions, emerging talents, and stories capable of dialoguing with young generations"
- Submissions must include a streaming link and complete film information
Submission fees:
- Fees are processed through FilmFreeway
- Fee waivers may be available in specific cases
The selection panel notifies all submitters of decisions. Selected filmmakers receive a letter of invitation with accreditation details.
Key Sections
- International Competition - 11 feature films competing for Best Film, judged by a youth jury of 35 teenagers aged 16 to 19
- Fuori Concorso - 6 feature films screened out of competition
- Panorama Italia - 6 Italian films competing for the Audience Award
- Onde Corte - 43 short films across sub-sections: Concorso (international), Panorama Italia, Academy (student films), and Fuori Concorso
- Sintonie - 5 films from Venice's Orizzonti and Biennale College, programmed in collaboration with the Venice Film Festival
- Quei Ragazzi - screenings and events for younger audiences
- Serie - 3 television series, including one co-produced with the Festa del Cinema di Roma
- Omaggi - 5 restored classics, including the 30th anniversary restoration of La Scuola (dir. Daniele Luchetti)
- Womenlands - program focused on women in cinema, with the Womenlands Excellence Awards
What Filmmakers Should Know
Alice nella Citta targets films for and about young people aged 8 to 18. If your film addresses adolescent experience or targets a youth demographic, this festival offers a focused platform. The youth jury of 35 teenagers aged 16 to 19 judges the international competition, meaning your film reaches its intended audience directly. Short filmmakers should target the Onde Corte section, which programs 43 shorts across four sub-categories. The Andromeda Film Award provides EUR 5,000 toward a future project with option rights, and the Premiere Film Award grants one year of free worldwide festival distribution. Italian filmmakers should submit to Panorama Italia for the audience award. The key trade-off: the festival delivers youth audience exposure and Rome Film Fest media infrastructure, but it is not Oscar-qualifying, BAFTA-qualifying, or European Film Award-qualifying.
Awards / Accreditation
Feature Film Competition
- Best Film: awarded by a youth jury of 35 members aged 16 to 19 (2025 winner: My Daughter's Hair, dir. Hesam Farahmand)
- Best First Film: awarded by the U.N.I.T.A. Association (2025: Anemone, dir. Ronan Day-Lewis)
Panorama Italia
- Audience Award for Best Film: voted by festival audience (2025: 2 Cuori e 2 Capanne, dir. Massimiliano Bruno)
Onde Corte (Short Films)
- Best International Short: jury prize (2025: Rage)
- Raffaella Fioretta Best Italian Short: EUR 3,000 (2025: Bratiska)
- Onde Corte Audience Award: voted by festival audience (2025: Tempi Supplementari, dir. Matteo Meme)
Screenwriting Awards
- Notorious Prize: development commission for screenwriters under 35, in two categories: Notorious Movies (feature concept) and Notorious Series (TV series concept) (2025 winners: Lorenzo Garofalo for best film concept, Chiara Biava for best series concept)
Industry Awards
- Film Impresa Under 35: promoting audiovisual storytelling about work and business innovation (2025: Bagarre, dir. Sarah Narducci)
Festival History
Alice nella Citta was founded in 2003 as a section of the Festa del Cinema di Roma, dedicated to young audiences and emerging cinema. For its first two decades, the festival operated as a programmed section within the broader Rome Film Fest structure.
The 23rd edition (2025) marked a structural shift: Alice nella Citta formalized its independence through a three-year agreement with Fondazione Cinema per Roma, becoming an autonomous parallel festival with its own accreditation pass while maintaining shared ticketing infrastructure. The festival introduced the Fuori Sala format, extending programming beyond the festival dates into November.
Notable guests have included Daniel Day-Lewis (who attended the 2025 edition with his son Ronan for Anemone), Robert De Niro, Spanish director Carla Simon, and Kenneth Lonergan (2025 Onde Corte jury president).
Past Winners
2025 (23rd Edition)
- Best Film (International Competition): My Daughter's Hair (dir. Hesam Farahmand), awarded by a youth jury
- Best First Film: Anemone (dir. Ronan Day-Lewis), the feature debut of Daniel Day-Lewis's son
- Panorama Italia Audience Award: 2 Cuori e 2 Capanne (dir. Massimiliano Bruno)
- Best International Short: Rage (dirs. Fran Moreno Blanco and Santi Pujol Amat)
- Raffaella Fioretta Best Italian Short: Bratiska (dir. Gregorio Mattiocco), EUR 3,000
2024 (22nd Edition)
- Best Film (International Competition): Bird (dir. Andrea Arnold, UK). Premiered in competition at Cannes.
- Best Italian Film (Panorama Italia): No More Trouble - Cosa rimane di una tempesta (dir. Tommaso Romanelli), EUR 3,000
2023 (21st Edition)
- Best Film (International Competition): The Other Son (dir. Juan Sebastian Quebrada), awarded by a youth jury.
- Best Italian Film (Panorama Italia): Desire (dir. Mario Vezza), EUR 3,000. Set in a juvenile detention center in Nisida.
- Hollywood Reporter Roma Award for Best First Work: To Leslie (dir. Michael Morris), which later earned Andrea Riseborough an Academy Award nomination.
Rome Film Fest (Parent Festival) Winners
Alice nella Citta runs parallel to the Rome Film Fest (Festa del Cinema di Roma), which became a FIAPF-recognized competitive festival in 2023. Key Rome Film Fest winners:
- 2025 Best Film: Left-Handed Girl (dir. Shih-Ching Tsou, Taiwan/France/USA/UK), produced by Sean Baker. Acquired by Netflix.
- 2024 Best Film: Bound in Heaven (dir. Huo Xin, China)
- 2023 Best Film: Toll (dir. Carolina Markowicz, Brazil)
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
Alice nella Citta and the Rome Film Fest have launched films that achieved significant downstream success:
- Paola Cortellesi - There's Still Tomorrow (2023) opened the Rome Film Fest and won three awards. The black-and-white feminist dramedy grossed over $36 million at the Italian box office, beating Barbie in admissions. Sold to 18 countries and won 6 David di Donatello Awards.
- Andrea Arnold - Bird (2024) won the Alice nella Citta Best Film award after its Cannes competition premiere. Arnold is an Academy Award winner (Wasp, 2005).
- Pawo Choyning Dorji - The Monk and the Gun (2023) received a Special Jury Award at the Rome Film Fest. Shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, representing Bhutan.
- Shih-Ching Tsou - Left-Handed Girl (2025) won the Rome Film Fest Best Film award. Produced by Sean Baker, who won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Anora (2024). Netflix acquired the film.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
- Target the youth audience. Alice nella Citta programs films for and about young people aged 8 to 18. The youth jury of 35 teenagers aged 16 to 19 judges the international competition.
- Submit via FilmFreeway. The deadline for the 24th edition is August 11, 2026. Include a streaming link and complete film information.
- Short filmmakers should target Onde Corte. The section programs 43 short films across four sub-categories. The Andromeda Film Award provides EUR 5,000 toward a future project. The Premiere Film Award grants one year of free worldwide festival distribution.
- Italian screenwriters under 35 should apply for the Notorious Prize. The prize awards development commissions in two categories: Notorious Movies (feature concept) and Notorious Series (TV series concept).
- Italian filmmakers should target Panorama Italia. The section has an audience award voted by festival attendees.
- Consider the Sintonie section. Films presented at Venice's Orizzonti and Biennale College sections are programmed in collaboration with the Venice Film Festival.
Industry Reputation Notes
Alice nella Citta is not an acquisitions market. Its industry value lies in its connection to the Rome Film Fest infrastructure and its position as a youth-focused festival. The three-year agreement with Fondazione Cinema per Roma gives Alice nella Citta autonomy while maintaining shared accreditation and ticketing with the parent festival.
The Rome Film Fest became a FIAPF-recognized competitive festival in 2023, increasing its international standing. However, neither Alice nella Citta nor the Rome Film Fest functions as a major sales market.
The festival's most notable industry success story is There's Still Tomorrow (2023), which opened the Rome Film Fest and became Italy's highest-grossing domestic film, selling to 18 countries. The festival is not Oscar-qualifying, BAFTA-qualifying, or European Film Award-qualifying. Its value is in audience exposure, youth jury recognition, and the media infrastructure of the Rome Film Fest.
Watch
See Also
For festival circuit planning and premiere strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the financial return of festival submissions, see the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For Italian cinema and European film markets, see International Film Markets. For the Torino Film Festival, another major Italian festival, see Torino Film Festival.
