The special event of the Saturnia Film Festival – a travelling festival of the Municipality of Manciano, in the heart of Maremma – took place in Venice, as part of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The event was dedicated to the presentation of the first previews of the 2026 edition and to a tributeto Tonino Guerra , on the occasion of the centenary of his birth.
On Tuesday, September 2nd, at 6:00 pm, at the Villa degli Autori on the Venice Lido, the new features of the ninth edition—scheduled for July 30th to August 2nd, 2026—were presented, and a series of events dedicated to Tonino Guerra was announced, retracing his extraordinary work alongside the great masters of Italian cinema.
President Antonella Santarelli and artistic director and director Alessandro Grande , along with Paolo Orlando (Medusa Film), Teresa Pasquini (Rai Cinema), and Mario Mazzetti (ANEC-FICE), presented the festival’s path and outlined its future prospects. The meeting was moderated by journalist Claudia Catalli .
The FEDIC (Italian Federation of Film Clubs) Awards were also presented during the evening . These historic awards celebrate the creative autonomy and expressive freedom of feature and short films, values that the Saturnia Film Festival shares and supports. The meeting also provided an opportunity to confirm collaborations with the Matera Film Festival , the Clorofilla Film Festival , and the London Rolling Film Festival , with a view to mutually exchanging and promoting the award-winning works.
During the event, it was announced that the call for applications for the 2026 edition will open on October 1, 2025 on the FilmFreeway platform .
The main sponsor of the Saturnia Film Festival and the initiative in Venice was Terme di Saturnia Natural Destination , which confirmed its support for the festival and its special activities.
Sources:
https://www.moviestruckers.it and https://www.cinema4stelle.it
