4 – 8 March at BFI, British Film Institute, London Southbank
CINEMA MADE IN ITALY
ICI London is proud to support Cinema Made in Italy 2026, a celebration and exploration of the best new Italian Cinema and the filmmakers creating them.
Welcome to Cinema Made in Italy, in its new home at BFI Southbank. This festival represents the best and brightest selection of new films, receiving their first screening in the UK, from some of the most vital and creative contemporary filmmakers working out of Italy. In a nutshell: ten films in five days, encompassing biopics, period drama, historical epics, autobiographical memoirs, gritty modern stories, noir thrillers, drama documentaries and a special archive screening. The films have been created by an eclectic mixture of established talent and first-time feature directors, many of whom will be in attendance, sometimes with cast members, to present and discuss their work. (Adrian Wootton, Artistic Director, Cinema Made In Italy).
The 16th edition of CINEMA MADE IN ITALY will launch at BFI Southbank on Wednesday 4 March 2026, showcasing a stellar selection of ten new Italian productions plus a stunning digital restoration of the 1959 classic title THE FACTS OF MURDER (Un Maledetto Imbroglio), directed by Pietro Germi and starring the late, great Claudia Cardinale. Four of the titles in this year’s enthralling line-up are directed by female film-makers, including the closing night film THREE GOODBYES (Tre Ciotole) by the prolific Catalan film-maker Isabel Coixet, starring Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano. Coixet’s latest feature is based on the best-selling novel by Michela Murgia and scored key sales following its 2025 Toronto premiere. As always, screenings will be followed by inspiring film-maker Q&A sessions, giving viewers the chance to become engaged in lively discussions.
The opening night film, PRIMAVERA, is directed by the renowned opera director Damiano Michieletto and stars Michele Riondino, recently seen in Billie August’s mini-series adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, and Tecla Insolia, who has been selected as one of the ten emerging acting talents for European Shooting Stars 2026. Drawing on the real life of Antonio Vivaldi, the film had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and will be distributed in the UK by Curzon Film on 24 April 2026. The screenplay was co-written with Ludovica Rampoldi,
one of Italy’s leading screenwriters, known for The Traitor and Gomorrah. This London premiere of Primavera coincides with Vivaldi’s birthday, who was born on 4 March 1678. The screening will be preceded by Bruno Bozzetto’s transfixing GRASSHOPPERS (Cavallette), which in 1991 was an Oscar® Nominee for Best Animated Short.
Ludovica Rampoldi will also be presenting her directorial debut A BRIEF AFFAIR (Breve Storia d’Amore), starring Valeria Golino (The Morning Show). The award-winning actress is also the lead in Mario Martone’s literary biopic FUORI, about noted Italian feminist writer and political activist Goliarda Sapienza (author of The Art of Joy), which screened in competition at last year’s Cannes International Film Festival, and Nicolangelo Gelormini’s dark fable GIOIA (La Gioia), which was in the 2025 Venice International Film Festival’s Venice Days section. Two other titles which had their premieres on the Venice Lido are ELISA, directed by Leonardo Di Costanzo, and Laura Samani’s well-received second film A YEAR OF SCHOOL (Un Anno di Scuola). Another debut feature in the line-up is Margherita Spampinato’s SWEETHEART (Gioia Mia), which premiered at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize and lead actress Aurora Quattrocchi was awarded the Pardo for Best Performance. Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis bring us their delightully playful Euro-western HEADS OR TAILS? (Testa o Croce?) starring John C. Reilly, which screened to critical acclaim in this year’s Un Certain Regard strand in Cannes, along with Francesco Sossai’s soulful gem THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD (Le Città di Pianura), which will be released in the UK by Bulldog Film Distribution in spring 2026. The five-day annual event is organised by Cinecittà, the British Film Institute (BFI), with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in London. The films were selected by Adrian Wootton OBE, CEO of Film London.