Italian Film Festival USA

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Italian Film Festival USA

The Italian Film Festival USA screens the local premieres of award-winning contemporary Italian film in original language with English subtitles. Louis.

The Italian Film Festival USA is the largest festival dedicated exclusively to Italian film in the USA, present in 14 cities from coast to coast: Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Milwaukee-Madison, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Salt Lake City or St. The current 2021 online edition brings you the best line-up of recent Italian cinema with films from

award-winning directors, as well as debut films from exciting new talent. This is your chance to see the latest and best in Italian film.

06/11/2026

Per te (For You) is the winner of the 2026 Audience Award at the Italian Film Festival USA!

Directed by Alessandro Aronadio, the film features Edoardo Leo, Teresa Saponangelo, Javier Francesco Leoni, and Giorgio Montanini. Based on Michela Morutto's book "Un tempo piccolo", it tells the true story of Mattia Piccoli, who in 2021 was recognized by Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, for his love in caring for his father, affected by early-onset Alzheimer's.

The film was presented in 8 of our 13 cities: Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, and St. Louis. Was it your favorite, too?

PiperFilm Michela Morutto

06/08/2026

We are excited to announce that the short film Oltre la collina (Beyond the Hill) by Andrea Bernardi was voted best short of our 2026 Short Film Program.

In Beyond the Hill, Matteo (Matteo Giuggioli), a young illustrator nervous about a job interview, stops for a coffee. When Sara (Carla Signoris) gets stuck in the café bathroom, he uses his drawings to calm her. As the bartender struggles to help, an unexpected bond develops between Matteo and Sara, a bond that might change Matteo's day and career. In the words of director Bernardi, the short centers on kindness, "a universal language that can create bridges". It shows how "a moment of care and listening can change the lives of others and perhaps even ours".

Congratulations to the Andrea Maddalena Bernardi and her entire team for this gem and for this achievement!

We thank ShortsFit Distribution for bringing this work to our attention.

05/16/2026

Join us in Portland tonight as the Italian Film Festival USA ends with two more films at 5th Avenue Cinema at Portland State University. These two shows will end this amazing Italian Film Festival USA 2026 edition!

🎬 5:45pm - Gioia mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato
🎬 7:20pm - Per te (For You) by Alessandro Aronadio

For more details 👉 visit our website:
https://italianfilmfests.org/portland.html

05/15/2026

Join us in Portland tonight at 6pm at 5th Avenue Cinema at Portland State University. The 2026 Italian Film Festival USA continues with La vita va così (Life Is Life) by Riccardo Milani.

🎬 Two worlds collide on an unspoiled stretch of coastline in southern Sardinia. Efisio Mulas is a solitary shepherd, the silent guardian of a time that seems to no longer exist. He has lived there forever, between the sea and his animals, in the small house where he was born. On the other side is Giacomo, president of a powerful real estate group, a symbol of an Italy striving towards the future. He is determined to transform that coast into a luxury resort. When Efisio refuses yet another multi-million dollar offer, the negotiation turns into a legal battle which Giovanna, a judge born and raised in the area, is called upon to decide.

📅 More details 👉 https://italianfilmfests.org/vita.html

05/11/2026

The Italian Film Festival USA ends in Chicago today! Join us at 6pm tonight, at Northwesterns University (Kresge Hall 1515) for Tre ciotole (Three Goodbyes) by Isabel Coixet and with Alba Rohrwacher, Elio Germano, and Silvia D'Amico.

🎬 Based on the book "Tre Ciotole" by Michela Murgia, the film follows Marta and Antonio. After what seemed like a trivial argument, they split up. Marta reacts to the breakup by withdrawing into herself. The only symptom she cannot ignore is her sudden lack of appetite. Antonio, a rising chef, immerses himself in his work. But despite being the one who ended things with Marta, he can’t seem to forget her. When Marta discovers that her loss of appetite has more to do with her own health than the pain of separation, everything changes: the taste of food, the music, the desire, the certainty of the choices that were made.

📅 For more details 👉 head to the link below
https://italianfilmfests.org/ciotole.html

05/09/2026

Join us in Portland tonight at 6pm at 5th Avenue Cinema at Portland State University. The 2026 Italian Film Festival USA continues with Napoli-New York by Oscar-winner Gabriele Salvatores, with Pierfrancesco Favino.

🎬 In the Italian city of Naples, devastated by World War II, orphaned children Carmine and Celestina survive life in the rubble-strewn streets by helping each other. Like so many others, they dream of going to America, where Celestina’s sister, who emigrated two years earlier, lives. One night, they stow away on a ship with an eccentric captain bound for New York and join hordes of Italian emigrants hoping for a better life in this strange new country.
Napoli-New York is based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini and Tullio Pinelli from the 1980s.

📅 Find out more 👉 https://italianfilmfests.org/napoli.html

05/08/2026

The Italian Film Festival USA opens in Portland today! Join us at 6pm tonight, at 5th Avenue Cinema at Portland State University for Tre ciotole (Three Goodbyes) by Isabel Coixet and with Alba Rohrwacher, Elio Germano, and Silvia D'Amico.

🎬 Based on the book "Tre Ciotole" by Michela Murgia, the film follows Marta and Antonio. After what seemed like a trivial argument, they split up. Marta reacts to the breakup by withdrawing into herself. The only symptom she cannot ignore is her sudden lack of appetite. Antonio, a rising chef, immerses himself in his work. But despite being the one who ended things with Marta, he can’t seem to forget her. When Marta discovers that her loss of appetite has more to do with her own health than the pain of separation, everything changes: the taste of food, the music, the desire, the certainty of the choices that were made.

📅 For more details 👉 head to the link below
https://italianfilmfests.org/ciotole.html

04/29/2026

The 2026 Italian Film Festival USA is continues in Chicago tonight!
Join us at 7pm at the Northbrook Public Library for La salita (The Ascent).

🎬 The debut film of Massimiliano Gallo is set in Naples, in 1983. Due to earthquake damage, the women’s prison in Pozzuoli is closed and the inmates are temporarily moved to other regional penitentiaries. Some of the women are transferred to the juvenile prison on the islet of Nisida. The playwright Eduardo De Filippo frequently goes to the island, helping to renovate the prison’s theater and create a school for acting and set design. He sends the actors of his own company to produce the first theatrical show in an Italian penitentiary for juveniles.

📅 For details 👉 head to our website
https://italianfilmfests.org/salita.html

04/27/2026

Join us in Kansas City for our closing show today, starting at 6pm. The Italian Film Festival USA will bring you our SHort Film Program at the University of Missouri (Royal Hall - Room 104).

Come enjoy the work of seven young, talented directors: Viola by Marco Lorenzo Masante; Call Bait (Mercato libero) by Giuseppe Cacace; Monica's Cat (Il gatto di Monica) by Letizia Zatti; Rukely by Alessandro Rak; Beyond the Hill (Oltre la collina) by Andrea Maddalena Bernardi; We Are Running Out of Milk (C'è da comprare il latte) by Pierfrancesco Bigazzi; Twentyseven: Sister Portrait (Ventisette: Ritratto di sorella) by Sara Schiavone.

📅 Find out more 👉 https://italianfilmfests.org/shorts.html

04/25/2026

The Italian Film Festival USA ends today in Detroit, with three films in Kehrl Auditorium at Schoolcraft College. Join us starting at 3pm.

🎬 3pm - Gioia mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato
🎬 5pm - Per te (For You) by Alessandro Aronadio
🎬 7:30 - La salita (The Ascent) by Massimiliano Gallo

For more details 👉 visit our website:
https://italianfilmfests.org/detroit.html

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St. Louis, MO

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+13144223102

Website

http://www.italianfilmfests.org/

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