Villa Medici Film Festival 2026: Five Days Exploring New Images
From September 16 to 20, 2026, the Villa Medici Film Festival will take place in Rome, Italy, celebrating the legacy of Lili Hinstin (1977-2026). This sixth edition will present more than 40 screenings, featuring a mix of artist films, documentaries, fiction, cinematic essays, and short films, including outdoor events. The festival is divided into three categories: the International Competition with 12 films, a Focus section showcasing out-of-competition works, and 'Serate nel Piazzale' for outdoor screenings. A jury made up of Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Rosa Barba, and Radu Jude will grant the Villa Medici Prize for Best Film (€5,000) and the Special Jury Prize (€3,000). Highlights include '1937' by Daria Kim and 'A Woman's Place Is Everywhere' by Fanny Texier, as the festival examines the intersection of cinema and contemporary art.
Key facts
- The Villa Medici Film Festival 2026 will take place from September 16 to 20, 2026, in Rome, Italy.
- The festival is dedicated to the memory of Lili Hinstin (1977-2026), who had worked at Villa Medici from 2005 to 2010 and directed the Locarno Film Festival from 2018 to 2020.
- Over 40 screenings will be held over five days, including outdoor screenings each evening.
- The festival features three sections: International Competition, Focus, and Serate nel Piazzale.
- The jury consists of Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Rosa Barba, and Radu Jude.
- Prizes include the Villa Medici Prize for Best Film (€5,000) and the Special Jury Prize (€3,000), with residencies for winners.
- Films in competition include works by Daria Kim, Fanny Texier, Sanaz Sohrabi, Beatrice Gibson, Ana Vaz, Romain Rampillon & Feda Wardak, Gessica Généus, Majid Al-Remaihi, Dean Wei, Mariia Lapidus, Céline Sciamma, and Lorenzo Silvestri.
- The festival was born in 2021 and has become a space to explore the transformations of cinematic language and new forms of image production.
Entities
Artists
- Lili Hinstin
- Majid Al-Remaihi
- Marwa Arsanios
- Zar Amir Ebrahimi
- Rosa Barba
- Louidgi Beltrame
- Maeve Brennan
- Lukas Dhont
- Koji Fukada
- Amandine Gay
- Gessica Généus
- Beatrice Gibson
- Arthur Harari
- Radu Jude
- Daria Kim
- Mariia Lapidus
- Phill Niblock
- Romain Rampillon
- Feda Wardak
- Sanaz Sohrabi
- Céline Sciamma
- Lorenzo Silvestri
- Alexandre Singh
- Natalie Musteata
- Aura Satz
- Fanny Texier
- Ana Vaz
- Dean Wei
- Yoko Hayasuke
- Adèle Haenel
- André Téchiné
- Xu Yidan
Institutions
- Villa Medici
- Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF)
- Biennale di Bukhara
- Colorful Films
- Studio Bardasht
- Fol Films
- Universidad Central de Venezuela
- Somesuch
- tambores, a noite
- Les Volcans
- Avant la Nuit
- Le Grand Gardon Blanc
- SaNoSi Productions
- Ayizan Productions
- Stenola Productions
- Bidibul
- Metafilms
- Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains
- Doha Film Institute
- NOWNESS China
- THE O EYE
- Beijing Film Academy
- VGIK
- CalArts
- Centre Pompidou
- Lilies Films
- Fémis
- Locarno Film Festival
- Festival Entrevues de Belfort
- Festival international du film de Biarritz Nouvelles Vagues
- Berlinale
- Cinéma du Réel
- Quinzaine des Cinéastes
- International Film Festival Rotterdam
- Visions du Réel
- Aman Iwan
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Uzbekistan
- Tashkent
- France
- United States
- Brooklyn
- Williamsburg
- Paris
- Canada
- Iran
- Turkey
- Venezuela
- Montréal
- Brazil
- Japan
- Haiti
- Jacmel
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Qatar
- Doha
- Taiwan
- Germany
- Beijing
- China
- Mexico
- Moscow
- California
- Seine-Saint-Denis
- Tourcoing
- Belfort
- Biarritz
- Bukhara
- Dhofar
- Arabia