Il Cinema Ritrovato 2027 – Bologna, Italy

• June 19, 2027
  Event date:
• June 27, 2027
  Event end:

What to expect

Cinema Rediscovered: Il Cinema Ritrovato lit. Cinema Rediscovered is annual film festival organised every summer by Cineteca di Bologna in Italy and dedicated to history of cinema, screening film classics and retrospectives, and showcasing latest restored works from cinematographic archives and film laboratories around world. Founded in 1986 originally as three-day event, over time festival became bigger with 500 films screened over nine days. Welcome to Il Cinema Ritrovato – festival that was first to prove that there’s huge audience for old films, if conditions are right.

World’s Leading Restoration Festival: The film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato has been organized by Cineteca di Bologna since 1986 and has developed into one of most important cinema events in world. Today among events dedicated to classic cinema, only Lumière Festival in Lyon attracts similar numbers. In recent edition saw total of 130,000 admissions, with international cineastes from 72 countries returning year after year. Cineteca di Bologna is one of world’s most important film archives and restoration laboratories, with mesh between festival, archive and laboratory invaluable.

Pass-Only Formula: Festival can afford to be pass-only – formula more commonly associated with music festivals. Passes are currently pegged at $152 full-price and give admission to all events and screenings via online booking. For nine magical days, films screened across seven theatres and two open-air venues – beacon of collective filmgoing joy, Piazza Maggiore, and intimate steamy and carbon-lit Piazzetta Pasolini. Underground gem Cinema Modernissimo remains Italy’s most beloved and best attended year-round cinema.

Festival dates

Festival Period: 19–27 June 2027. The world’s premiere festival dedicated to cinematic masterpieces, timeless classics, and hidden gems returns for nine magical days. Festival runs from June 21-29 in typical edition, with opening day in Piazza Maggiore. Festival is in its 41st edition in 2027, with pianos tuned, lenses polished, reels inspected, and illuminating notes prepared.

Visiting this event? Don’t miss out on these amazing activities and local experiences while you’re here.

Venues & festival locations

Piazza Maggiore: Beacon of collective filmgoing joy, Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, one of Italy’s most graceful Renaissance squares. Thousands of people crowded, some seated, others standing or perched on steps of San Petronio cathedral, gazing towards 10-metre-high screen. Here brand-new restorations of classics shown, such as Jean Renoir’s The Lower Depths, Carl Dreyer’s Vampyr, Mauritz Stiller’s Erotikon, and new Sony-Columbia 70mm restoration of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Admission is free, with no pass required.

Piazzetta Pasolini: Intimate, steamy and carbon-lit open-air venue, Piazzetta Pasolini, second open-air venue for late-night screenings and experimental programs.

Seven Theatres: Films screened across seven theatres including Cinema Modernissimo underground gem, Cinema Jolly, Cinema Arlecchino, Cinema Europa, and other Cineteca venues. Modernissimo remains Italy’s most beloved and best attended year-round cinema.

Cineteca di Bologna Headquarters: Cineteca di Bologna Via Riva di Reno 72, 40122 Bologna, Italia, Tel +39 0512194814/4211, base for festival organization, book fair, FIAF workshop, and Blu-ray & DVD Awards.

Full programme

Recovered and Restored: Strand showcasing latest restored works from cinematographic archives and film laboratories around world. Latest restorations include Once Upon a Time in America extended version restored by Bologna Cineteca including 22 minutes of footage cut during editing, presented with 15-minute standing ovation history at Cannes. Spanning five continents and 130 years of cinema history, selection promises wealth of treasures.

Documents and Documentaries: Strand for documentaries about cinema, film history, restoration process, with international premieres of documentaries on filmmakers and archival work.

Cinemalibero, 1905 and Il Cinema Ritrovato Kids and Young: Cinemalibero for free cinema, 1905 for early cinema with live musical accompaniment, and Kids and Young for children and young audiences.

Retrospectives and Surveys: Retrospectives include Lewis Milestone Of Wars and Men bridging silent cinema and 70mm spectacles, Luigi Comencini Italian filmmaker, survey of groundbreaking features made by Ukrainian studio VUFKU in Odessa, British B-movie Strongroom directed in 1962 by Vernon Sewell extraordinary masterful example, Sorrow and Passion Pre-War Mikio Naruse focusing on crucial five-year period 1935-39 at P.C.L. studio, Norden Noir from vaults of Danish Norwegian Swedish archives original noirs of North, Masks and Music Films of Willi Forst tribute to once immensely popular Austrian actor-turned-director, One Hundred Years Ago strand offering classics and rarities made or released 100 years ago.

Featured films & premieres

Opening Premieres: New Sony-Columbia 70mm restoration of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind presented on opening day in Piazza Maggiore, Indian epic Sholay presented in restored director’s cut to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent feature Strike, Coline Serreau’s French comedy Three Men And A Cradle from 1985.

Restored Classics: Festival features restored films including works by Marlene Dietrich, Anatole Litvak, Italian director Pietro Germi, Black Sunday 1960 Italian giallo by Mario Bava, and other renowned heritage films from Spain, France, Germany, United States, all digitally restored, as well as silent films presented with live accompaniment.

Thematic Strands: Great Small Gauge Of Songs and Society focusing on genre closely associated with 16mm format music documentaries including rockumentary breakthrough of Direct Cinema techniques heyday of music culture 1960s, titles such as Festival about Newport Folk Festivals, Right On with The Last Poets, Wattstax with Isaac Hayes, The Decline of Western Civilization with Black Flag, Katharine Hepburn Feminist Acrobat and Lover covering 67-year career with 12 Oscar nominations and 4 wins screwball comedies.

Global Archive Premieres: Rare restored and recovered archival cinema from international archives, with recent editions focusing on feminist, documentary, anti-colonial cinemas, with films like Sambizanga 1972, Assunta Spina 1915, The Last Emperor 1987, Wings of Desire 1987.

Directors, actors & guests

Festival Directors: Directors Cecilia Cenciarelli, Gian Luca Farinelli, Ehsan Khoshbakht, Mariann Lewinsky, with Gian Luca Farinelli guiding since earliest days, director of Cineteca since 2000, putting success down to quality and depth of research.

Artistic Committee: Artistic Committee includes Richard Abel, Peter Bagrov, Peter Becker, Janet Bergstrom, Kevin Brownlow, Gian Piero Brunetta, Ian Christie, Lorenzo Codelli, Eric de Kuyper, Bryony Dixon, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Bernard Eisenschitz, Jean A. Gili, Alexander Horwath, Aki Kaurismäki, Dave Kehr, Martin Koerber, Hiroshi Komatsu, Miguel Marías, Nicola Mazzanti, Mark McElhatten, Olaf Möller, Alexander Payne, Chema Prado, Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese, Jon Wengström, Karl Wratschko.

Regular Guests: Filmmakers who often end up hooked after first visit, Alexander Payne never misses chance to come back, Wes Anderson regular, Godard invited in 2011 came and loved it celebratory mood caught him by surprise, Thierry Frémaux director of both Lumière classic film festival and Cannes Film Festival frequent guest participating in on-stage conversation with Farinelli.

Programming Committee: Programming Committee Guy Borlée coordinator, Roberto Chiesi, Anna Fiaccarini, Goffredo Fofi, Andrea Meneghelli, Paolo Mereghetti, Emiliano Morreale, Davide Pozzi, Elena Tammaccaro, plus curator Carla Marcantonio.

Screening schedule

Daily Schedule: For nine magical days films screened across seven theatres and two open-air venues, with morning screenings for 1905 early cinema with live musical accompaniment, afternoon retrospectives and Recovered and Restored, evening galas in Piazza Maggiore free admission.

Piazza Maggiore Nightly: Nightly screenings at Piazza Maggiore starting after sunset around 21:30, with thousands seated, with brand-new restorations, silent films with live orchestra.

Theatre Screenings: Theatres operate from late morning to midnight, with overlapping strands, online booking via pass required, with seats kept warm for another spectacular edition where cinematic wonders and long-lost masterpieces return to big screen after decades of quiet slumber.

Special Events Schedule: Book Fair inside Renzo Renzi Library, Il Cinema Ritrovato Blu-ray & DVD Awards international jury picking best home-video releases, FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission Workshop Summer, masterclasses with special guests.

Ticket types & accreditation

Pass-Only Formula: Festival is pass-only, more commonly associated with music festivals. Passes currently pegged at $152 full-price and give admission to all events and screenings via online booking. Pass allows booking across seven theatres and two open-air venues.

Piazza Maggiore Free: Admission to Piazza Maggiore screenings is free, with no pass required, beacon of collective filmgoing joy.

Reduced Passes: Reduced price for students, under 30, and seniors around $108 to $130, with special rates for Cineteca members.

Daily and On Tour: Daily tickets for single venues not typical, but Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour events in Minneapolis and other cities run $20 tickets not included in festival pass. Festival pass includes all screenings and book fair.

Accommodation Packages: Bologna Welcome provides festivalgoers complete information about accommodation in Bologna as well as travelling tips, early birds have better opportunities and benefit from special rates.

Industry & professional access

Global Partnerships: Over years Il Cinema Ritrovato, Cineteca di Bologna and restoration lab L’Immagine Ritrovata have forged global partnerships with film archives, studios, distributors and more recently streaming platforms. Essential partner The Criterion Channel as one that in last 15 years has been essential partner in terms of programming, studios like Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros and Sony have presented important restorations, Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project fundamental partner helping showcase small forgotten films from areas with limited resources for film preservation.

FIAF Workshop: FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission Workshop Summer, with international archivists and documentation experts.

Distribution Arm: In 2013 festival launched own theatrical distribution arm Il Cinema Ritrovato Al Cinema, bringing almost hundred restored classics to core network of around 50 cinemas across Italy, titles licensed thanks to collaborations with studios or classic cinema specialists like Park Circus, distributed sometimes solo sometimes via partnerships with Italian companies such as BIM, iWonder and Lucky Red for restored David Lynch films.

Networking: Festival embedded in intense network, with cordial rapport with other festival directors, although there’s certain competition for premieres of classic films or documentaries on cinema, not comparable with rivalry over new films.

Red carpet & special events

Opening Night in Piazza: Opening night in Piazza Maggiore with new restoration premiere, red carpet with directors, archivists, and guests like Alexander Payne, Wes Anderson, Thierry Frémaux.

Blu-ray & DVD Awards: Il Cinema Ritrovato Blu-ray & DVD Awards international jury picks best home-video releases of year, celebrated event.

Book Fair: Most tempting collection of film books, DVDs, Blu-rays and posters offered inside Renzo Renzi Library, leaving some empty room in luggage.

On Stage Conversations: On-stage conversations with Farinelli and Frémaux dedicated to New Creation New Audiences, and other masterclasses with special guests, illuminating notes prepared.

Il Cinema Ritrovato Al Cinema: Theatrical distribution arm events celebrating restored classics reaching cinemas across Italy, changing perceptions among exhibitors and audiences, programming classic film in first-run venue now seen as normal.

Festival rules

Pass and Booking: Festival is pass-only, passes give admission to all events and screenings via online booking, online booking required for theatre screenings, Piazza Maggiore free with no booking.

Photography and Recording: No photography or recording during screenings, respect for restored works and archives, pianos tuned lenses polished reels inspected.

Language: Films screened in original language with English and Italian subtitles, silent films with live musical accompaniment, majority of films from early cinema to 1960s.

Venue Rules: Respect for historic venues, Piazza Maggiore, Piazzetta Pasolini, Cinema Modernissimo, no smoking inside theatres, maintain celebratory mood.

Archive Respect: Festival showcases latest restored works from labs and archives around world, requires respect for archival prints, 35mm archive prints and digital restorations handled with care.

How to get there

By Train: Bologna Centrale is major railway hub on high-speed line connecting Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice, with direct trains from across Italy and Europe. Short walk or bus to Piazza Maggiore and Cineteca venues.

By Air: Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport BLQ with flights across Europe, then Aerobus or taxi to center, about 20 minutes to Piazza Maggiore.

By Car: Bologna accessible via A1 and A14 motorways, but ZTL restricted traffic zone in historic center, use parking outside center.

Walking: Once in historic center, Piazza Maggiore, Piazzetta Pasolini, Cinema Modernissimo, and other seven theatres walkable within 10-15 minutes, Bologna is welcoming and culturally vibrant city.

On Tour: Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour takes place in Minneapolis at Main Cinema and Walker Art Center, and in Washington Mid-Atlantic edition, curated by Archives on Screen, screening highlights from lineup.

Public transport & parking

Public Transport: TPER operates bus network in Bologna, with frequent services to historic center, Piazza Maggiore, Cineteca. Tickets around $1.70 per ride or $5 for day pass.

Parking: Parking limited in historic center with ZTL, use parking garages at Piazza 8 Agosto, Staveco, Tanari, with fees around $20 to $35 per day, or park-and-ride at outskirts and take bus.

Bike: Bologna is bike-friendly with bike sharing and cycling paths, ideal for moving between seven theatres and two open-air venues.

Accessibility: Public transport accessible, but Piazza Maggiore steps may require assistance, theatres have accessible seating.

Accommodation areas

Historic Center: Staying in historic center offers proximity to Piazza Maggiore beacon of collective filmgoing joy and seven theatres, with boutique hotels, B&Bs ranging $120 to $250 per night during festival. Early birds have better opportunities and benefit from special rates via Bologna Welcome.

Bologna Welcome: Bologna Welcome provides complete information about accommodation in Bologna as well as travelling tips, with special rates for festivalgoers.

University Area: More affordable options near University of Bologna, $70 to $130, popular with students and cinephiles, with bus connections.

Modernissimo Area: Hotels near Via Riva di Reno and Cineteca headquarters convenient for book fair and FIAF workshop.

Booking Advice: Recent edition saw 130,000 admissions with international cineastes from 72 countries returning year after year, book well in advance for June period, summer in Bologna very welcoming and culturally vibrant.

Food & dining

Bolognese Cuisine: Bologna offers rich cuisine with tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo, mortadella, with average meal $30 to $60 per person near Piazza Maggiore.

Piazza Maggiore Dining: Restaurants around Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio offer outdoor dining with view of screen, ideal for pre-screening dinner, with aperitivo culture.

Cineteca Bar: Cinema Modernissimo and other venues have bars offering drinks and snacks between screenings, maintaining celebratory mood.

Street Food: Quick bites like piadina, tigelle, gelato, pizza slices $5 to $12 available near venues, with book fair inside Renzo Renzi Library offering temptation.

Wine and Aperitivo: Emilia-Romagna wines like Lambrusco, Pignoletto, Sangiovese, with wine bars offering tastings around $8 to $15 per glass, popular for post-screening discussions.

Accessibility

Piazza Maggiore: Piazza Maggiore free admission open-air venue has steps of San Petronio cathedral where some perch, with accessible flat areas, assistance available.

Theatres: Seven theatres including Cinema Modernissimo underground gem have accessible entrance, elevator, accessible seating, with accessible restrooms.

Silent Films with Live Music: 1905 strand with live musical accompaniment offers immersive experience, with pianos tuned and live orchestras.

Subtitles: Films screened with English and Italian subtitles, silent films with intertitles and live accompaniment, making accessible to international audience from 72 countries.

Inclusive: Festival aims to bring people back to moment when they discovered cinema, where every screening was somehow mythical and unique, going back to origins and purity of passion for film, welcoming and culturally vibrant city.

Best screenings to attend

Piazza Maggiore Premieres: Nightly screenings at Piazza Maggiore beacon of collective filmgoing joy, with brand-new restorations such as Close Encounters Of The Third Kind 70mm restoration, Sholay restored director’s cut 50th anniversary, Jean Renoir The Lower Depths, Carl Dreyer Vampyr, Mauritz Stiller Erotikon, with thousands gathered.

Recovered and Restored: Latest restored works from labs and archives around world, spanning five continents and 130 years of cinema history, with treasures from archives.

Retrospectives: Retrospectives of Lewis Milestone Of Wars and Men, Luigi Comencini, Mikio Naruse Sorrow and Passion Pre-War, Norden Noir original noirs of North, Willi Forst Masks and Music, Katharine Hepburn Feminist Acrobat and Lover, offering depth of research.

Early Cinema 1905: One Hundred Years Ago strand offering classics and rarities made or released 100 years ago, with undisputed masterpieces like Sergei Eisenstein Strike, Carl Theodor Dreyer Master of the House, future big-name auteurs Alfred Hitchcock, Jean Renoir, Josef von Sternberg debut features, with female filmmakers spotlight and pioneering Black American director Oscar Micheaux, supplemented by short subjects and newsreel items.

Kids and Young: Il Cinema Ritrovato Kids and Young strand with family-friendly restored classics and educational screenings.

Previous year’s highlights

130,000 Admissions: In 2024 total of 130,000 admissions with international cineastes from 72 countries returning, transformation from five-day symposium about film conservation organised by Cineteca in 1986 to one of world’s leading festivals.

Piazza Maggiore Restorations: Brand-new restorations of Jean Renoir The Lower Depths, Carl Dreyer Vampyr, Mauritz Stiller Erotikon shown in Piazza Maggiore, plus new Sony-Columbia 70mm restoration of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind presented on opening day, and Indian epic Sholay restored director’s cut 50th anniversary.

Guest Surprises: Guests Alexander Payne never misses chance to come back, Wes Anderson regular, Godard invited in 2011 complicated at beginning then loved celebratory mood caught him by surprise, Thierry Frémaux frequent guest participating in on-stage conversation dedicated to New Creation New Audiences.

Strands: Strands included Sorrow and Passion Pre-War Mikio Naruse focusing on 1935-39 P.C.L. studio with advanced studio technology and Hollywood lighting, Norden Noir from Danish Norwegian Swedish archives showcasing Murder Melody and Death Is a Caress directed by Edith Carlmar, Willi Forst tribute revealing profound love for music shaping plot mise-en-scène editing preserving urbane sophisticated spirit of late Weimar Republic.

Global Partnerships: Partnerships with Criterion Channel essential partner in last 15 years in terms of programming, studios Paramount Disney Warner Bros Sony presenting important restorations, Martin Scorsese World Cinema Project fundamental partner helping showcase small forgotten films from areas with limited resources for preservation, plus cordial rivalries with Lumière Festival.

Official tickets & accreditation

Official Website: festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it and ilcinemaritrovato.it
Contact Email: ilcinemaritrovato@cineteca.bologna.it
Contact Phone: +39 0512194814/4211
Organizer: Promoted by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, Directors Cecilia Cenciarelli, Gian Luca Farinelli, Ehsan Khoshbakht, Mariann Lewinsky, Coordinator Guy Borlée, Supporters Gaumont, The Film Foundation, Pathé, With support of Comune di Bologna, Ministero della Cultura Direzione generale Cinema e audiovisivo, Regione Emilia-Romagna Assessorato alla Cultura, Creative Europa Media, Main Sponsor Gruppo Hera.
Main Venues: Seven theatres including Cinema Modernissimo, and two open-air venues Piazza Maggiore beacon of collective filmgoing joy and Piazzetta Pasolini intimate steamy and carbon-lit, plus Renzo Renzi Library for book fair.
Tickets: Pass-only formula, passes currently pegged at $152 full-price giving admission to all events and screenings via online booking, reduced $108 to $130, Piazza Maggiore free with no pass required, Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour Minneapolis $20 tickets not included, available via festival website and Bologna Welcome with accommodation information and travelling tips.

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