International Tour Film Festival 2026, Civitavecchia, Italy

• October 7, 2026
  Event date:
• October 11, 2026
  Event end:

What to expect in 2026

The International Tour Film Festival returns to Civitavecchia for its 15th edition, bringing an international programme of cinema, tourism films, emerging filmmaking and cultural events to the city. The official festival site confirms that the 2026 edition will offer five days of cinema and culture with free public admission.

The festival’s 2026 competition is particularly broad, covering feature films, fiction shorts, animation, documentaries, tourism films, vertical movies, AI-created shorts and Mediterranean video poetry. A separate student competition focuses on Article 41 of the Italian Constitution and cultural heritage.

The festival also continues its international focus through filmmakers and works from numerous countries. The 2026 competition already includes productions from Italy, Taiwan, France, Spain, Iran, Germany, Portugal, Greece, India, the United States and many other countries.

Festival dates

International Tour Film Festival 2026 will take place from October 7 to 11, 2026, in Civitavecchia, Italy. The official festival homepage currently confirms these dates for the 15th edition and lists admission as free.

The five-day programme is expected to combine competition screenings with meetings, workshops, special events, award presentations and cultural activities.

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Venues & festival locations

The festival traditionally uses several venues across Civitavecchia, allowing the event to involve different parts of the city.

Recent festival locations have included:

• Cinema Royal, Piazza Regina Margherita 7
• Cinema Buonarroti, Via Buonarroti 13B
• Teatro Verdi, Viale della Vittoria 51
• Teatro Granari Off
• Cittadella della Musica
• Hotel De La Ville

The 2025 final programme used these venues for screenings and related activities, while earlier editions also used Teatro Comunale Traiano and other cultural spaces.

The final 2026 venue-by-venue programme should be checked against the official schedule when published.

Full programme

The 2026 ITFF programme covers a wide range of cinema and audiovisual categories.

• Feature films
• Fiction short films
• Documentary films
• Animation
• Tourism promotional films
• Vertical movies
• AI-created short films
• Mediterranean Visions video poetry
• Article 41 student competition
• Special screenings
• Filmmaker meetings
• Workshops
• Cultural presentations
• Literary activities
• Award ceremonies
• Audience and critics’ awards

The festival’s programme is designed to connect traditional cinema with newer forms of audiovisual storytelling, including vertical productions and works created with artificial intelligence.

Featured films & premieres

The 2026 competition selection includes a large international group of works across several categories. The official selection includes films from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and other regions.

Notable examples include:

• Animation: 16:9 by Jia-Yu Ge, A Blood Story by Stefano Buonamico, Dobrina by Hannes Rall and Misfolding by Soetkin Verstegen
• Documentary: Federico Faggin – The Man Who Saw the Future by Marcello Foa, Pagani – A Festival That Never Dies by Augusto De Girolamo Del Mauro and Panta Rei by Vanni Giannotti
• Fiction: Catching Fish by Luca Münch, Empathy Rehearsals by Jacopo Cullin, Gnosis by Andrea and Emanuele D’Ambrosio and The Castle by Francesco Galietta
• Movie: Sea Sisters by Brunella Fili, The Program Light by Alberto Zanigni and Under the Stars of Rome by Giuseppe Ivan David Di Giorgio
• Short in AI: Butterfly Lucy by Pas Spadaro, Dreamers by Publio César de la Vega García and The Last Version by David Teos
• Tourism: Calabria – Infinity in a Journey by Francesco Pacienza, The Bay of Dreams by Pedro Correia Luis and João Tiago Santos and Viana do Castelo – Cultural Capital of the Atlantic Axis by Flávio Cruz
• Vertical Movie: Cry Me an Ocean by Bob Yothers, Fiumicino (Runways) by Pierre Yves Clouin and The Escape! by Leandro Vedovatto

The official competition list does not identify every selected work as a premiere, so premiere status should be confirmed individually through the festival catalogue.

Directors, actors & guests

The 2026 competition brings together filmmakers from a particularly wide international field. The official selection includes directors from Italy, Taiwan, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Portugal, India, China, the United States, Brazil, Croatia and many other countries.

The festival’s leadership includes President Piero Pacchiarotti, Artistic Director Antonio Flamini and Operational Director Andrea Donato.

Previous editions have welcomed directors, actors, producers, critics and cinema-industry representatives. The 2025 edition, for example, included Andrea De Rosa, Roberta Aguzzi, Mirko Alivernini, Daniele Falleri, Christian Marazziti and other film professionals among its guests.

Screening schedule

The detailed 2026 screening timetable has not yet been fully published on the official website. The festival’s homepage currently lists the programme and catalogue as forthcoming.

Screenings are expected to be distributed across the festival’s Civitavecchia venues, with different sessions dedicated to feature films, shorts, animation, documentaries, tourism cinema, AI works and other competition sections.

Visitors should check the official programme before attending because the screening venue and session time can vary by film and category.

Ticket types & accreditation

The official 2026 festival website currently states that admission to the International Tour Film Festival is free.

• General festival admission: $0
• Competition screenings: $0
• Special festival events: $0 where included in the public festival programme
• Professional and press accreditation: Details to be confirmed through the festival

The festival’s previous Civitavecchia edition was also promoted with free entry, allowing audiences to attend screenings, meetings and workshops without a general admission charge.

Industry & professional access

ITFF has a strong professional component, bringing together filmmakers, producers, directors, actors, critics, television professionals and representatives of film institutions.

The festival’s competition is evaluated by juries composed of professionals from cinema, television, communication and entertainment. The programme also includes meetings and workshops designed to encourage exchange between filmmakers and audiences.

Professional activity extends beyond the main competition through partnerships with cultural institutions, film organizations and international tourism-film networks. ITFF is also among the founders of CINETOUR, an international network focused on thematic sustainable tourism.

Red carpet & special events

The festival combines film screenings with award ceremonies, cultural meetings and special recognitions.

Special programming can include:

• ITFF competition screenings
• Award ceremonies
• Audience Award presentations
• Critics’ Jury Award
• Mafalda Molinari Award
• Italian Excellence Award
• One Sea of Books literary competition
• Fanitudine activities
• Article 41 cultural heritage competition
• Workshops and meetings
• Special guest appearances

The 2025 edition also presented ITFF Cannes Awards and hosted presentations involving film-industry professionals and cultural organizations.

Festival rules

The ITFF competition is open to a broad range of audiovisual works. The 2026 competition categories include feature films, fiction shorts, animation, documentaries, tourism films, vertical movies, AI-created shorts and Mediterranean Visions video poetry.

The competition structure also includes student works connected with Article 41 of the Italian Constitution.

Awards associated with the festival include:

• Best Feature Film
• Best Documentary
• Best Fiction Short Film
• Best Animation Short Film
• Best Tourism Short Film
• Best Vertical Movie Short Film
• Best AI-Created Short Film
• Best Soundtrack
• Audience Award
• Critics’ Jury Award
• Special mentions

The festival’s rules provide for artistic selection by the festival direction and evaluation by specialized juries. The official regulations also state that selected works can receive promotion through local non-profit television channels, partner festivals and other competitions unless rights holders withdraw that consent.

How to get there

Civitavecchia is located on the Tyrrhenian coast northwest of Rome and is one of Lazio’s major port cities.

Visitors arriving by air can travel from Rome’s airports toward Civitavecchia by train, coach, taxi or private transfer. The city is also connected to Rome and other Italian destinations by railway.

Civitavecchia’s central festival venues are spread around the city, making it useful to check the specific venue for each screening when planning your journey.

Public transport & parking

Civitavecchia railway station is the main public transport connection for visitors arriving by train. The station is close to the central part of the city and provides connections with Rome and other destinations.

Local buses can be used to reach different neighbourhoods and venues, while central locations can also be accessible on foot depending on the screening location.

Visitors arriving by car should allow extra time for parking around Cinema Royal, Teatro Verdi, Cittadella della Musica and other central festival locations, particularly during evening events.

Accommodation areas

Visitors can stay in central Civitavecchia or near the waterfront and port area.

• City Centre: Convenient for central cultural venues, restaurants and evening screenings
• Waterfront: Useful for visitors combining the festival with coastal sightseeing
• Near the Port: Convenient for cruise passengers and visitors using the port
• Railway Station Area: Practical for visitors travelling by train
• Northern Civitavecchia: A quieter option with access to the city centre by local transport

Staying centrally can make it easier to move between the festival’s different venues during the five-day programme.

Food & dining

Civitavecchia’s coastal location makes seafood an important part of the local dining scene. Visitors can find restaurants serving fish, shellfish, pasta and traditional Roman-Lazio dishes.

The city centre and waterfront also offer cafés, bakeries, pizzerias and informal restaurants suitable for meals between screenings.

Festival visitors can combine cinema activities with local cuisine and explore the restaurants around the historic centre and harbour.

Accessibility

The festival uses multiple venues, so accessibility arrangements can vary from one location to another.

Visitors requiring step-free access, accessible seating or other assistance should confirm the arrangements for their chosen venue before attending.

Because the 2026 programme is distributed across several locations, contacting the festival organizers in advance is recommended for specific accessibility requirements.

Best screenings to attend

The best way to experience ITFF is to combine different competition sections rather than focusing on one type of film.

• Feature Film Competition: For longer-form international cinema
• Fiction Shorts: For emerging narrative filmmakers
• Animation: For distinctive visual storytelling
• Documentaries: For real-life stories and contemporary subjects
• Tourism Films: Particularly relevant to visitors interested in travel, destinations and promotional filmmaking
• Short in AI: For audiences interested in new filmmaking technologies
• Vertical Movies: Showcasing mobile-oriented audiovisual storytelling
• Mediterranean Visions: For experimental combinations of poetry and moving images
• Awards Ceremony: For the presentation of the festival’s principal recognitions

Previous year’s highlights

The 2025 edition brought the festival’s international competition to several Civitavecchia venues, including Cinema Royal, Cinema Buonarroti, Teatro Verdi, Teatro Granari Off, Cittadella della Musica and Hotel De La Ville.

The programme included national and European premieres, including Balboa and Silent Rebellion, alongside the Taiwanese production The Butterfly Dream, which achieved a double victory at the festival.

Other 2025 recognitions included John Vardar vs the Galaxy for Best Film, The Spiritualization of Jeff Boyd for the Jury Prize and Transformation for Best AI Short. Director Cinzia Th. Torrini received a Career Award, while the festival also presented special and literary programming.

The edition also featured professional guests and cultural figures including Maddalena Mayneri, Andrea De Rosa, Roberta Aguzzi, Mirko Alivernini, Daniele Falleri and Christian Marazziti.

Official tickets & accreditation

The official ITFF website confirms that the 2026 festival has free public admission. The website is also publishing the 2026 competition works and will add the final programme, catalogue, juries and award information as they become available.

Filmmakers can participate through the festival’s official submission channels, including FilmFreeway, Movibeta and FestHome. The 2026 competition includes a broad selection of categories covering conventional cinema and newer audiovisual formats.

For press, industry and professional accreditation, visitors should use the official ITFF contact channels. The festival provides accreditation information through its official website as the programme develops.

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