Overview
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is the leading screening series in North America dedicated to contemporary Italian film. Co-presented by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecitta, the series returns for its 25th edition from May 28 through June 4, 2026, at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th Street) in New York City. The 2026 program features 15 features, including 9 North American premieres, spanning satires, dramas, and documentaries from both emerging talents and established veterans.
The series is not a traditional competitive festival. It is a curated exhibition program. Film at Lincoln Center programmer Dan Sullivan organizes the series alongside Cinecitta's Griselda Guerrasio, Monique Catalino, and Rossella Rinaldi. The selection process involves negotiations with Italian, French, German, and US distributors to secure North American and New York premieres of the best recent Italian films.
For Italian filmmakers, Open Roads is the most direct path to New York's arthouse audience. Films selected for the series screen before critics from The New York Times, Variety, IndieWire, and other major outlets, as well as Academy members based in New York. The series also attracts distribution scouts looking for US acquisition targets, particularly for films seeking streaming or limited theatrical deals.
Submission Details
Open Roads does not accept open submissions. The program is curated entirely by the organizing team at Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecitta. Films are selected through relationships with Italian distributors, sales agents, and production companies.
How films get selected:
- Italian distributors and sales agents submit screening links directly to the Cinecitta programming team in Rome
- Cinecitta coordinates with Film at Lincoln Center to finalize the lineup
- The series typically programs 15 to 20 features per edition
- Priority goes to films receiving their North American or New York premiere
- The series balances emerging directors with established names
For filmmakers without Italian distribution: The path into Open Roads runs through your Italian distributor or sales agent. If your film has been acquired by an Italian distributor, they can submit it to Cinecitta for consideration. If your film is still seeking distribution, the route is through a sales agent or producer who can make a direct introduction to the Cinecitta programming team.
Ticket pricing for the 2026 edition:
- General admission: $19 per screening
- Students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities: $16
- FLC Members: $14
- 3+ Film Package: $17 general / $14 students / $12 members
- All Access Pass: $140 general / $120 FLC Members
Tickets went on sale May 1, 2026, with FLC members getting a 2-hour early access window. Purchase tickets on the Film at Lincoln Center website.
Key Sections
- Contemporary Italian Features - 15 films selected from the best recent Italian cinema, including 9 North American premieres in 2026
- Opening Night - The Kidnapping of Arabella (Il rapimento di Arabella), 2025, Italy
- Special Tribute - 120th anniversary of Roberto Rossellini's birth, with a screening of his 1946 film Paisan and the North American premiere of the documentary Roberto Rossellini, Living Without a Script
- Filmmaker Q&As - post-screening conversations with attending directors and actors
- History, Italian Style - a companion series running June 4 to 25, 2026, examining the evolution of modern Italy through 29 films
What Filmmakers Should Know
For Italian Filmmakers
Open Roads is the single most effective way to reach North American arthouse audiences and critics. The 2026 delegation includes Carolina Cavalli, Andrea Di Stefano, Nicolangelo Gelormini, Benedetta Porcaroli, Ludovica Rampoldi, Barbara Ronchi, and Ingrid Rossellini. Filmmakers selected for the series travel to New York for Q&A sessions, press interviews, and industry networking.
The Walter Reade Theater seats 268 people. Screenings sell out regularly, particularly for opening night and weekend shows. The audience includes Film at Lincoln Center members, who tend to be serious cinephiles with deep knowledge of Italian cinema history.
For US Distributors and Acquisitions Executives
Open Roads functions as a de facto acquisition screening room for Italian cinema in New York. Distributors including Sideshow, Janus Films, Music Box Films, and IFC Films have acquired titles that screened at Open Roads. The series provides a concentrated view of the current Italian production landscape, making it efficient for acquisitions teams to evaluate multiple titles in a single week.
For Italian American Cultural Organizations
The series is presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in New York and with support from NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo. These partnerships connect the film program to broader Italian American cultural programming in New York. The series attracts a multi-generational audience that includes recent Italian immigrants, Italian American families, and New York's general arthouse cinema community.
Industry Value
Open Roads does not have an attached film market. There is no pitch forum, no co-production market, and no industry accreditation system. The value is in the programming itself: a curated, critic-attended exhibition of the best Italian cinema of the past year, in the media capital of the United States.
The series does generate measurable press coverage. Films selected for Open Roads regularly receive reviews in The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and IndieWire. For Italian films seeking US distribution, this press coverage is often more valuable than a festival prize.
Awards
Open Roads does not present jury or audience awards. It is a non-competitive screening series. The value for filmmakers is in the exhibition, the press coverage, and the industry exposure rather than in competitive recognition.
Festival History
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema was founded in 2001 as a collaboration between Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecitta, making the 2026 edition the 25th. The series was created to address a gap in US distribution for Italian cinema. At the time, Italian films rarely received theatrical releases in the United States outside of New York and Los Angeles, and even in those cities, Italian cinema had limited visibility beyond occasional festival screenings.
Over 25 years, Open Roads has screened films by directors including Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, Marco Bellocchio, Nanni Moretti, Alice Rohrwacher, and Valeria Golino. The series has tracked the evolution of Italian cinema from the post-Bertolucci generation through the rise of new voices in the 2010s and 2020s.
The 2025 edition (the 24th) featured films including La Grazia by Paolo Sorrentino, Familia by Francesco Costabile, and The Art of Joy by Valeria Golino. The 2026 edition adds a historical dimension with the Rossellini tribute, connecting contemporary Italian cinema to its neorealist roots.
A separate Italian film event also operates in New York: Italy On Screen Today, founded by Loredana Commonara, which runs its 10th edition from November 14 to December 9, 2025, at venues including MoMA, Quad Cinema, and Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU. That event focuses on both cinema and Italian TV series, with free screenings supported by Italy's Ministry of Culture.
Notable Selections and Awards
Open Roads is a non-competitive series, so there are no festival prizes. However, many selected films arrive with major awards from Venice, Rome, and other festivals. Recent standout selections include:
- The Kidnapping of Arabella (2026 opening night) - Carolina Cavalli's second feature. Benedetta Porcaroli won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award at Venice 2025. Acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories for US theatrical release in July 2026.
- The Time It Takes (2025 opening night) - Francesca Comencini's autobiographical drama. Nominated for six David di Donatello awards. Romana Maggiora Vergano won the Pasinetti Award for Best Actress at Venice.
- Sicilian Ghost Story (2018 opening night) - Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's drama. Acquired by Strand Releasing for North American distribution ahead of its Open Roads debut.
- Sacro GRA (2014 selection) - Gianfranco Rosi's documentary. Won the Golden Lion at Venice, the first documentary ever to do so. Screened at Open Roads as a New York premiere.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
Open Roads has served as a launchpad for US distribution of Italian cinema. Films that screened at the series and secured North American deals include:
- Sicilian Ghost Story (2018) - opened Open Roads as its North American premiere. Strand Releasing acquired all North American rights and released it theatrically in fall 2018.
- A Ciambra (2017) - Jonas Carpignano's film about a Romani community in southern Italy. IFC's Sundance Selects acquired North American rights after its Cannes Directors' Fortnight premiere. The film was Italy's Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film.
- Gioia and The Eyes of Others (2026) - two features from the 25th edition. Breaking Glass Pictures acquired US and Canadian rights during the festival, with deals finalized at Open Roads itself.
- Fireworks (Stranizza d'Amuri) - Giuseppe Fiorello's debut about a real-life 1980s hate crime in Sicily. Cinephobia Releasing acquired North American rights, with the US premiere at Open Roads.
- The Kidnapping of Arabella (2026) - Carolina Cavalli's Venice-winning comedy. Oscilloscope Laboratories picked it up for a July 2026 theatrical run at the IFC Center in New York.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
Open Roads does not accept open submissions, so the "submission" process is really about getting your film in front of the right people. Here is how the pipeline works:
- Your Italian distributor or sales agent must submit a screening link to the Cinecitta programming team in Rome. Cinecitta coordinates with Film at Lincoln Center to finalize the lineup.
- If your film does not yet have Italian distribution, a sales agent or producer with existing Cinecitta relationships can make an introduction. Cold submissions are not considered.
- Films that have premiered at Venice, Rome, or Berlin have a significant advantage. The programming team looks for films with festival momentum and critical attention.
- The series prioritizes North American and New York premieres. If your film has already screened widely in the US, it is less likely to be selected.
- Balance matters: the programmers mix established directors with first-time filmmakers. Debut features that played major European festivals are strong candidates.
Industry Reputation Notes
Open Roads is widely regarded as the most important US platform for contemporary Italian cinema. Industry professionals treat it as a focused acquisition window rather than a festival circuit stop.
Compared to Italy On Screen Today (also in New York), Open Roads has stronger industry attendance and press coverage. Italy On Screen Today is free and broader in scope, including Italian TV series. Open Roads is more selective and critic-driven.
The series is smaller and more targeted than general European film festivals in New York like Rendezvous with French Cinema or New York Jewish Film Festival. But for Italian cinema specifically, no US event matches its concentration of distributors, critics, and Academy members in one room.
Press coverage from Open Roads screenings regularly appears in The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and IndieWire. For Italian films without US distribution, this coverage can be the catalyst for a deal.
Watch
See Also
Use the Festival ROI Calculator to evaluate the costs and benefits of attending a curated series like Open Roads versus a competitive festival. For Italian cinema distribution strategy, read International Film Markets. For the broader New York festival landscape, see Tribeca Film Festival. For understanding how curated series differ from competitive festivals in distribution strategy, see Film Festival Strategy.
