The tribute to Anna Magnani and the titles of the 2026 edition.
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The Saturnia Film Festival , an event dedicated to emerging cinema, returns for its ninth edition , organized by the cultural association Aradia Productions under the presidency of Antonella Santarelli and the artistic direction of director Alessandro Grande .
The ninth edition will kick off with a special pre-opening evening on Friday, July 24th, before kicking off from July 30th to August 2nd, 2026, once again transforming the squares of the Maremma’s most picturesque villages into a captivating open-air stage.
Five days dedicated to the seventh art, featuring encounters and discoveries, where emerging international cinema takes center stage in a magical atmosphere in the squares of San Martino Sul Fiora, Saturnia, Montemerano, and, for the festival’s final evening, the evocative Terme di Saturnia spa. Two competitive sections dedicated to short and feature films will be featured, alongside special events involving various local municipalities, maintaining the itinerant nature that has always characterized the festival.
Saturnia Film Festival 2026: A Tribute to Anna Magnani
The 2026 edition of the Saturnia Film Festival will pay homage to Anna Magnani , an absolute icon of Italian and international cinema, on the seventieth anniversary of the Oscar she won for Daniel Mann ‘s The Rose Tattoo (1956), which consecrated her as the first Italian actress in the history of the Academy Awards to win the statuette for Best Actress.
The festival’s official image, designed by Davide Pompili and inspired by her, will also celebrate her talent and legacy . The tribute will continue with a screening of Anna by and with Monica Guerritore , an intimate and powerful story dedicated to the actress’s life and artistic journey.
Monica Guerritore , director and star of the film, will also be the guest of honor on the evening of Friday 31 July for the screening of her film.
Furthermore,
Rounding out the Feature Film Competition are two films that were protagonists of the last film and festival season: Le città di pianura by Francesco Sossai , an instant cult of this year’s Italian cinema and winner of the latest David di Donatello awards, a road trip story across the Veneto plains starring three unlikely outsiders, and Il rapimento di Arabella by Carolina Cavalli , a road movie that sees the unexpected encounter between a young woman trapped by her regrets and a little girl determined to escape from it all, in a delicate and surprising tale about the desire to change the past.
The ninth edition of the Saturnia Film Festival once again offers a Short Film Competition dedicated to the best short films from around the world, divided into three sections: Italy, International, and Animation.
Among the international titles in competition: Choice by Marko Crnogoroski , the story of a woman forced to face the brutal reality when a new law bans scheduled abortion. Next up is Normal by Lara Panah-Izadi , in which a hypersensitive man is forced to confront the violence of his own emotions. Meanwhile, Rhubarb Rhubarb by Kate McMullen centers on a family who runs a thriving rhubarb farm in Yorkshire.
It doesn’t end here
Among the Italian titles: the dystopian Arborea by Letizia Zatti , in which vegetation has mysteriously stopped reproducing and a scientist monitors the sound frequencies of an oak tree, until one day she hears a new sound; Arca by Lorenzo Quagliozzi , in which a group of Hollywood filmmakers fight to preserve cinema from the end of history; Tempi aggiuntive by Matteo Memè , in which a motorbike trip will allow a father and son to finally address their complex relationship.
For animation: Mud by Caterina Salvadori and Mariasole Brusa , in which the “mud” of the title is told from a poetic, creative, and material perspective. Also in the mix is Retirement Plan by John Kelly , nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2026 Oscars, in which the protagonist Ray daydreams about his future in retirement.
Finally, Rukeli by Alessandro Rak , a story dedicated to Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, who became middleweight champion in Nazi Germany, the first Sinto, or “gypsy”, to win this title in world boxing.
The Women’s Views section is back again this year ,
Produced in collaboration with Mujeres nel Cinema and the Olympia de Gouges Association, the film features three short films directed by women and focusing on women’s issues. Gente per bene (Good People) by Irene Girotti , in which the protagonist Luna, a middle-class student, tries to help Alina, a Ukrainian woman in Italy without a residence permit. Eva Dematté ‘s La parola amore non esisteva (The Word Love Didn’t Exist ), in which the director follows her grandfather’s daily life, imagining that his recently deceased grandmother is with him. This is followed by Punti nascosto (Hidden Points ) by Beatrice Baldacci, in which a seventy-five-year-old woman finds the strength to regain her freedom through an encounter with a young seamstress. Trapped in a life of control, she finds the strength to regain her freedom.
The festival program is completed by the Art Short School section , directed by David Pompili, with videos by students from the Gandhi Institute of Narni that will remain on display at the Polo Culturale Le Clarisse in Grosseto for all days of the festival as well as at the Polo Culturale Pietro Aldi in Saturnia.
The full program for the ninth edition of the Saturnia Film Festival will be announced in the coming weeks.
