Rome Film Fest Celebrates 20th Edition with Prestigious Awards
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The Rome Film Fest, officially recognized as a Competitive Festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), concluded its 20th edition on Saturday, october 25th, with a glittering awards ceremony at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone. The event honored a diverse range of cinematic achievements, from groundbreaking feature films to compelling documentaries and established industry titans.
Progressive Cinema Competition Highlights
A distinguished jury, led by actress, screenwriter, author, and director Paola cortellesi, and including Teemu Nikki, William Oldroyd, Brian Selznick, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz, recognized LEFT-HANDED GIRL by Shih-Ching Tsou as the Best Film in the Progressive Cinema Competition. The jury awarded the Jury Grand Prix to NINO by Pauline Lo
40 SECONDI POSTE ITALIANE.
Best First Feature and Documentary Awards
The Poste Italiane Best First Feature Award went to TIENIMI PRESENT by Alberto Palmiero (Freestyle), selected by a jury chaired by Santiago Mitre, alongside Christopher Andrews and Barbara Ronchi. Samuel Bottomley and James McLean Ross received a Special Mention for their performances in California Schemin’ by James McAvoy.
This year marked the inaugural Best Documentary Award, recognizing works exploring the cinema of reality. The award was presented to CUBA & ALASKA by Yegor Troyanovsky (Special Screenings), as judged by a panel led by Alexander Nanau, with Santiago Maza and Nadia Trevisan.Vincent Munier’s The Song of the Forests also received a Special Mention in the documentary category.
Audience Choice and Lifetime Achievements
Audiences participating in the festival awarded the Terna Audience Award to ROBERTO ROSSELLINI – MORE THAN A LIFE by Ilaria de Laurentiis, Andrea Paolo Massara, and Raffaele Brunetti. Voting was conducted via QR codes at the theater exits following screenings.
Beyond the competitive categories, the 20th edition of the Rome Film Fest also celebrated significant contributions to the film industry with several Lifetime Achievement Awards. Lord David Puttnam, Richard Linklater, and Jafar Panahi where each presented with Industry Lifetime Achievement Awards. Edgar Reitz received the Master of Film Award, and Nia DaCosta was honored with the Progressive Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lazio Region presented the “Premio Lazio Terra di Cinema” to Can Yaman.
Festival Production and Partnerships
The Rome Film Fest is produced by Fondazione Cinema per roma and promoted by a collaborative network including roma capitale, Lazio Region, Cinecittà (representing the Ministry of Culture), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture of rome, and fondazione Musica per Roma. Lorenzo Tagliavanti,President of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome,chairs the Board of Founders,with key members including the Mayor of rome,Roberto gualtieri,and the President of Regione Lazio,Francesco Rocca. Salvatore Nastasi serves as President of Fondazione Cinema per Roma,alongside General Manager Francesca via and Artistic Director Paola Malanga.
The festival benefits from the support of numerous institutional and main partners, including ACEA, BNL BNP Paribas, and Poste italiane, as well as collaborations with organizations like Alice nella città and the Cineteca di Bologna. Rai serves as the Main Media Partner, with Rai Culture as the Content Partner and Rai Radio 2 as the Official Radio.
