Hollywood names, European arthouse favourites and a long list of Italian actors are expected on the red carpet at the 21st Festa del Cinema di Roma, which runs from 13 to 25 October.Rome’s film festival opens on Tuesday with a mix of international stars, Italian cinema heavyweights and TV premieres.The main venue is the Auditorium Parco della Musica, and screenings are spread across the city. Organisers have scheduled around 150 films, and this year’s poster pays tribute to Monica Vitti. Opening night The festival opens on 13 October with Il rumore delle cose nuove (The Sound of New Things) by Paolo Genovese. The cast includes Emanuela Fanelli, Claudia Pandolfi, Vittoria Puccini, Stefano Accorsi, Lino Musella and Edoardo Pesce, with Claudio Santamaria. Composer Nicola Piovani will receive the first Banca Ifis Music Award that evening. British producer Tessa Ross, behind 12 Years a Slave and The Zone of Interest, is also due to be honoured with an Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Hollywood and international guests Spanish actor Javier Bardem will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from director Paolo Sorrentino. He will also present Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido, which premiered at Cannes. Julianne Moore will be honoured at the screening of The Debut in the Grand Public section. The award will be presented by Jesse Eisenberg, who directed the film and appears in it alongside Paul Giamatti. The Oscar and Emmy winner is known for Still Alice, The Hours and The Kids Are All Right. Kim Kardashian is expected for the world premiere of the second season of Ryan Murphy’s legal comedy All’s Fair, which arrives on Disney+ on 4 November. Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts and Sarah Paulson are also expected. Paul Bettany, Ruaridh Mollica and creator Terry Matalas will present Marvel Television’s VisionQuest, which starts on Disney+ this month. Anthony Ippolito, known for Grand Army and the miniseries The Offer, will receive the Progressive Career Award from artistic director Paola Malanga. It will be presented at the premiere of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, in which he plays Sylvester Stallone. The film marks 50 years since the original Rocky. Jenna Ortega will attend with director Taika Waititi for Klara and the Sun, also starring Amy Adams, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel. It opens in Italian cinemas on 22 October. Susan Sarandon will present The Accompanist, directed by Zach Woods, at the opening of Alice nella Città, the festival’s parallel section for younger audiences. She will receive the Womenland Award 2026 during the festival’s side events. Barry Keoghan will present Butterfly Jam in the same section. Other guests include Louis Garrel and Camille Cottin (Juste une illusion), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Riverrun) and Diego Luna (Ceniza en la boca). Helen Mirren, who plays Patricia Highsmith in A Talent for Murder, may also attend. Other starry casts on the programme include Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman in Elsinore, Fanny Ardant in Ginevra Elkann’s Le rose di Marrakech, and Demi Moore and Keke Palmer in I Love Boosters. Italian stars Riccardo Scamarcio comes to Rome with Giorni felici, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli and in the Progressive Cinema competition. Kasia Smutniak will present her competition documentary Mustang, about a promise made in Nepal with Pietro Taricone. Valerio Lundini makes his directorial debut with Cambogia, and Benedetta Porcaroli and Lorenzo Zurzolo star in 7 anniversari. Massimiliano Caiazzo plays Pino Daniele in Je so’ pazzo, and Deva Cassel presents Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. Elio Germano and Maria Chiara Giannetta star in Daniele Luchetti’s Noi, un po’ meglio, and Pilar Fogliati appears in Il profilo dell’altra. Diego Abatantuono and Stefania Sandrelli are in Un tranquillo funerale di famiglia, and Enrico Vanzina’s La sera a Roma brings Massimo Ghini and Carlo Buccirosso. Music and women’s voices Singer Elisa will meet fans at the premiere of Ludovico Boccianti’s Kintsugi… e sono la mia opera, a film about pain and renewal linked to her new album. Jovanotti is expected with a documentary about his life, while Morgan’s attendance for Non importa dove is not yet confirmed. Actress Claudia Gerini directs Ricordati ragazza, a documentary on women’s first vote in 1946, featuring testimony from Nadia Gallico Spano, one of the women who helped write Italy’s constitution. Other highlights The Progressive Cinema competition features 18 independent films, including Eurotrash. Paola Randi’s Se domani non torno, inspired by the case of Giulia Cecchettin, is screening out of competition, with a cinema release set for 5 November. On 20 October, the Forum Theatre hosts Best Movie Worlds, a charity gala for students. The first guests announced are Benedetta Porcaroli, Francesca Chillemi, Giulia Michelini, Alessandro Siani, Filippo Timi and Arisa. The Casa del Cinema will show restored works by Leos Carax alongside Fight Club, Boogie Nights and Trainspotting, and critic Goffredo Fofi will be honoured with a selection of his favourite films. For full details of the 2026 Rome Film Fest see official website. Image: Susan Sarandon. Photo credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

Rome’s film festival opens on Tuesday with a mix of international stars, Italian cinema heavyweights and TV premieres. The main venue is the Auditorium Parco della Musica, and screenings are spread across the city. Organisers have scheduled around 150 films, and this year’s poster pays tribute to Monica Vitti. The festival opens on 13 October with Il rumore delle cose nuove (The Sound of New Things) by Paolo Genovese. The cast includes Emanuela Fanelli, Claudia Pandolfi, Vittoria Puccini, Stefano Accorsi, Lino Musella and Edoardo Pesce, with Claudio Santamaria. Composer Nicola Piovani will receive the first Banca Ifis Music Award that evening. British producer Tessa Ross, behind 12 Years a Slave and The Zone of Interest, is also due to be honoured with an Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Spanish actor Javier Bardem will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from director Paolo Sorrentino. He will also present Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido, which premiered at Cannes. Julianne Moore will be honoured at the screening of The Debut in the Grand Public section. The award will be presented by Jesse Eisenberg, who directed the film and appears in it alongside Paul Giamatti. The Oscar and Emmy winner is known for Still Alice, The Hours and The Kids Are All Right. Kim Kardashian is expected for the world premiere of the second season of Ryan Murphy’s legal comedy All’s Fair, which arrives on Disney+ on 4 November. Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts and Sarah Paulson are also expected. Paul Bettany, Ruaridh Mollica and creator Terry Matalas will present Marvel Television’s VisionQuest, which starts on Disney+ this month. Anthony Ippolito, known for Grand Army and the miniseries The Offer, will receive the Progressive Career Award from artistic director Paola Malanga. It will be presented at the premiere of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, in which he plays Sylvester Stallone. The film marks 50 years since the original Rocky. Jenna Ortega will attend with director Taika Waititi for Klara and the Sun, also starring Amy Adams, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel. It opens in Italian cinemas on 22 October. Susan Sarandon will present The Accompanist, directed by Zach Woods, at the opening of Alice nella Città, the festival’s parallel section for younger audiences. She will receive the Womenland Award 2026 during the festival’s side events. Barry Keoghan will present Butterfly Jam in the same section. Other guests include Louis Garrel and Camille Cottin (Juste une illusion), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Riverrun) and Diego Luna (Ceniza en la boca). Helen Mirren, who plays Patricia Highsmith in A Talent for Murder, may also attend. Other starry casts on the programme include Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman in Elsinore, Fanny Ardant in Ginevra Elkann’s Le rose di Marrakech, and Demi Moore and Keke Palmer in I Love Boosters. Riccardo Scamarcio comes to Rome with Giorni felici, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli and in the Progressive Cinema competition. Kasia Smutniak will present her competition documentary Mustang, about a promise made in Nepal with Pietro Taricone. Valerio Lundini makes his directorial debut with Cambogia, and Benedetta Porcaroli and Lorenzo Zurzolo star in 7 anniversari. Massimiliano Caiazzo plays Pino Daniele in Je so’ pazzo, and Deva Cassel presents Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. Elio Germano and Maria Chiara Giannetta star in Daniele Luchetti’s Noi, un po’ meglio, and Pilar Fogliati appears in Il profilo dell’altra. Diego Abatantuono and Stefania Sandrelli are in Un tranquillo funerale di famiglia, and Enrico Vanzina’s La sera a Roma brings Massimo Ghini and Carlo Buccirosso. Singer Elisa will meet fans at the premiere of Ludovico Boccianti’s Kintsugi… e sono la mia opera, a film about pain and renewal linked to her new album. Jovanotti is expected with a documentary about his life, while Morgan’s attendance for Non importa dove is not yet confirmed. Actress Claudia Gerini directs Ricordati ragazza, a documentary on women’s first vote in 1946, featuring testimony from Nadia Gallico Spano, one of the women who helped write Italy’s constitution. The Progressive Cinema competition features 18 independent films, including Eurotrash. Paola Randi’s Se domani non torno, inspired by the case of Giulia Cecchettin, is screening out of competition, with a cinema release set for 5 November. On 20 October, the Forum Theatre hosts Best Movie Worlds, a charity gala for students. The first guests announced are Benedetta Porcaroli, Francesca Chillemi, Giulia Michelini, Alessandro Siani, Filippo Timi and Arisa. The Casa del Cinema will show restored works by Leos Carax alongside Fight Club, Boogie Nights and Trainspotting, and critic Goffredo Fofi will be honoured with a selection of his favourite films. For full details of the 2026 Rome Film Fest see . Image: Susan Sarandon. Photo credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com