Cow every October the capital returns to being Hollywood on the Tiber with the Rome Film Festival (the 2025 edition has been on stage since 15 to 26 October). Now in its twentieth edition, there Party gives voice to Italian and international debut works, experimental films, TV series, video installations. The president of the jury is Paola Cortellesiready to reward the most deserving of the 18 films in the official competition. There will be the red carpet with the stars, the meetings with authors and directorsthe retrospectives. Everything like as always outside and inside the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone.
In addition to Cortellesi, the other members of the jury are the director and Finnish screenwriter Teemu Nikki e the director and British screenwriter William Oldroyd, the writer and American illustrator Brian Selznick And the French-Finnish actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz. All together they will award the prizes of the competitive section of the festival, from Best Film to the “Monica Vitti” Award to Best Actress.
The special juryheaded by director e Argentine producer Santiago Mitre, the British director and screenwriter Christopher Andrews and Barbara Ronchi, will choose the most deserving young author of the Award for Best First Film.
Rome Film Festival 2025: dates, films in competition, programme
The Progressive Cinema Competition – Visions for the world of tomorrow contains the 18 films in competition with their favorite themes and genres true stories and crime news. Among the most interesting titles 40 seconds by Vincenzo Alfieri on the crime of Willy Monteiro. In The eyes of others by Andrea De Sica, starring Filippo Timi, Jasmine Trinca and Anna Ferzetti, the mysterious Casati Stampa murder of 1970 is told.
More reality and gender issues in Miss Carbon by Augustina Macri, true story of the first transsexual miner, played by Lux Pascal, sister of Pedro Pascal. A tribute to the cult The word to the jurors by Sidney Lumet for Re-Creation by Jim Sheridan and David Merriman. The director duo stages the trial on the murder of French director Sophie Toscan du Plantier, killed in 1996.
From true to plausible with The Accident de piano by Quentin Dupiex with Adèle Exarchopoulos (La vie d’Adèle) in the unusual role of a woman incapable of feeling physical pain. A grotesque plot is that of Good Boy by Jan Komasa: a reckless boy, after a wild night, becomes a prisoner of a family who would like to re-educate him. In the cast, the actor Stephen Grahamexcellent protagonist of the hit series Adolescence.
Freestylethe non-competitive section
Among the non-competitive sections it stands out Freestyle, where you can find works of format and style free from conventions. 28 titles including television series, video clips, reflections on cinema, authorship and excellent debuts such as that of actor James McAvoy (Split). The new director will present in Rome California Schemin’, the true story of the Scottish rap duo Silibil N’ Brains. Italian works like The council chamber by Fiorella Infascelli, with Sergio Rubini and Massimo Popoliziostages the Palermo maxitrial of 1987. Dazed films like Queens of the Deadthe imaginative meeting between Brooklyn Drag Queens and the living dead. Directing it is Tina Romero, daughter of the king of genre cinema, George Romero.
There is no shortage of homages to the theater such as Comedy doesn’t exist. Salemme tries Eduardo by Vincenzo Salemme e to the Italian “cannibal literature” of the Nineties in the documentary Cannibals by Hilary Tiscione. It ranges across the musical universe with documentaries that tell stories of musicians out of the ordinary. Easy to love – the true story of Massimo Urbani, the legendary Jazz saxophonist who passed away in 1993. It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley is a hymn to the poignant beauty and talent of Tim Buckley’s son, musician who made history with just one album, Grace.
Matilda de Angelis in “The lesson”.
The section Grand PublicThe Best of 2025 And History of Cinema
The “Grand Public” section contains films and stories for the general public. Among the most anticipated films Five seconds by Paolo Virzì with Valerio Mastrandrea And Dracula: a love tale by Luc Besson. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) in Hamnet directed by Paul Mescal in the guise of an unusual William Shakespeare. Alice Winocour’s sophisticated drama, Couture, the story of 3 women in Paris with Angelina Jolie and Vincent Lindon. Anna by Monica Guerritore is a portrait unpublished by the great actress Anna Magnani.
For cinephiles there is the inevitable vision of “Best of 2025”, a selection best titles of the season from other international festivals. Last but not least “History of Cinema”: i masterpieces in restored version.
How to buy tickets for the Rome Film Festival 2025
Purchasing tickets in advance of the Rome Film Festival 2025 can be carried out exclusively online through official site where to also find the detailed program. The traditional location of the festival is The Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, home of the stars’ red carpet. Other places are the Casa del Cinema, the MAXXI, the Teatro Olimpico and the Aquila and Giulio Cesare rooms.
Carolina Crescentini in the series “Mrs Playmen” (Rome Film Festival 2025)
The guests, the career awards, the TV series
Great attention to the Lifetime Achievement Awards for two very important directorseven if they are opposite authors, who they will be the guests of honor of the festival. The first, Jafar Panahi, he will receive the prize directly from the hands of Giuseppe Tornatore; the second, Richard Linklater, swill be honored by Marco Bellocchio. To the British producer Lord David Puttnam (Moments of glory) “the Industry Lifetime Achievement Award”. The German filmmaker Edgard Reitz (Heimet)a Rome to present his new work Leibniz – Chronicle of a Lost Paintingwill collect from the guest Nanni Moretti the “Master of Film Award”. Female recognition for New York director Nia DaCosta (Hedda), who will be awarded the “Career Progress”.
In addition to Panahi and Linklater, the public will be able to meet many other creative personalities such as the British Julien Temple and Marco Bellocchio. The director of Absolute Beginners he will be the protagonist of a masterclass in which he will talk about the combination of cinema and music. Bellocchio will instead talk about his latest work, the series Portobello based on the story of presenter Enzo Tortora.
Filippo Timi and Jasmine Trinca in “The eyes of others”.
The most anticipated TV series
Great curiosity for Mrs Playmen by Riccardo Donna. The biography by Adelina Tattilo, the woman at the head of the first Italian erotic magazine, played by Carolina Crescentini. From Italy to India with the new fiction Sandokan by Jan Maria Michelini, Nicola Abbatangelo. Freely inspired by the saga of the writer Salgari, stars Can Yaman and Alessandro Preziosi.
Great anticipation for the season finale of Life as Carlobiographical series by Carlo Verdone. Directly from the detective novels by Gianrico Carofiglio Warriors – The rule of balance. The series by Gianluca Maria Tavarelli stars Alessandro Gassmann.
Guests of the Rome Film Festival and Alice in the city: Daniel Day Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence
Many stars which they will walk along the very long red carpet of the Rome Film Festival. Jennifer Lawrence is expected to present Die my Love, Lynne Ramsay’s film in competition at the last Cannes Film Festival. The actress is the protagonist alongside Robert Pattinson. Matilda De Angelis will not be missingtogether with the cast of Luc Besson’s latest film.
The twist is the presence in the capital of 3-time Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis. He will be the protagonist of the film Anemonecompeting for Alice in the City and directed by his son Ronan. After being part of the Rome Film Festival, since 2012 Alice in the city it has its own autonomy and a parallel program such as the masterclass with James Franco.