Alice nella Citta

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. A three-year agreement with Fondazione Cinema per Roma formalizes Alice nella Citta as an autonomous and parallel festival with shared accreditation and ticketing.

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. The 2025 edition also introduced "Fuori Sala," a new format extending programming into November with panels, literary presentations, and screenings across Rome's historic center.

Alice nella Citta targets films for and about young people aged 8 to 18, a demographic that mainstream cinema underserves. The festival's programming addresses the transition from children's cinema to adult cinema: films by and about teenagers, films that treat adolescent experience without condescension, 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 via FilmFreeway

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 festival accreditation details.

Key Sections

• International Competition - 11 feature films competing for the Best Film prize, 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, voted by festival attendees
• Onde Corte - 43 short films across multiple sub-sections: Onde Corte Concorso (international competition), Onde Corte Panorama Italia (Italian competition), Onde Corte Academy (student films), and Onde Corte Fuori Concorso
• Sintonie - 5 films presented at Venice's Orizzonti and Biennale College sections, 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

For Youth Cinema Filmmakers

Alice nella Citta is one of the few European festivals dedicated to cinema for and about young people. If your film addresses adolescent experience, targets a youth audience, or is made by an emerging filmmaker under 35, this festival offers a focused platform with a direct connection to its target demographic. The youth jury system means your film is judged by the audience it is made for, not by industry professionals alone.

For Short Filmmakers

The Onde Corte section programs 43 short films across multiple categories. The international short film competition offers a jury prize (the 2025 jury was presided by Kenneth Lonergan). The Raffaella Fioretta prize for best Italian short carries a EUR 3,000 cash award. The Andromeda Film award provides EUR 5,000 as a contribution toward a future project, with a right of first refusal or option for Andromeda Film. The Premiere Film award grants one year of free worldwide festival distribution to a short film without prior festival distribution.

For Italian Filmmakers

Panorama Italia is the dedicated Italian film section with an audience award. The RB Casting prize for best young Italian performer and the U.N.I.T.A. Under 35 award provide recognition for emerging Italian talent. The Notorious prize, divided into Notorious Movies (feature concepts) and Notorious Series (TV series concepts), awards development commissions to screenwriters under 35.

Industry Context

The festival's new three-year agreement with Fondazione Cinema per Roma gives it increased autonomy while maintaining the audience and media infrastructure of the Rome Film Fest. The Fuori Sala format extends the festival's footprint beyond cinema screens into Rome's cultural and commercial spaces, creating additional exposure opportunities. The Womenlands program and its Excellence Awards add a gender-focused industry dimension.

Major Awards

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)
• Special Mention: selected by the same youth jury (2025: La Piccola Amelie, dirs. Liane-Cho Han and Mailys Vallade)
• 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, dirs. Fran Moreno Blanco and Santi Pujol Amat)
• Raffaella Fioretta Best Italian Short: EUR 3,000 (2025: Bratiska, dir. Gregorio Mattiocco)
• Onde Corte Audience Award: voted by festival audience (2025: Tempi Supplementari, dir. Matteo Meme)
• Onde Corte Academy: best student film (2025: Mix Estate '83, dir. Cristian Vassallo, NABA student)
• Premiere Film Award: one year of free worldwide festival distribution (2025: Il Velo, dir. Cristian Patane)
• Andromeda Film Award: EUR 5,000 contribution toward a future project with option rights (2025: Ciao Varsavia, dir. Diletta Di Nicolantonio)
• Rai Cinema Channel Award: selected by RUFA students (2025: Bratiska, dir. Gregorio Mattiocco)

Performance Awards

• RB Casting Best Young Italian Performer: selected by a jury of casting director, producer, and agent (2025: Adalgisa Manfrida for Ultimo Schiaffo)
• U.N.I.T.A. Under 35 Award: selected by the U.N.I.T.A. Association (2025: Adalgisa Manfrida for Ultimo Schiaffo)

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: collaboration between Alice nella Citta and Premio Film Impresa, 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 festival's focus on cinema for young people aged 8 to 18 filled a gap in Italian festival programming, where youth-oriented cinema had no dedicated competitive platform.

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 and 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 with events across Rome's historic center.

The festival has hosted notable guests including Daniel Day-Lewis (who attended the 2025 edition with his son Ronan for Anemone), Robert De Niro (who participated in November 2025 events), Spanish director Carla Simon (2025 special guest), and Kenneth Lonergan (2025 Onde Corte jury president). The 2025 edition opened with Good Boy (dir. Ben Leonberg), an independent horror film, signaling the festival's openness to genre cinema within its youth-focused programming.

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.