Cortellesi: "An exhilarating exchange at the Rome Film Festival."

Italian films dominate the winners' list at the 20th Rome Film Fest, both in the audience and jury polls, with four awards. The Best Film award, however, goes to the Anglo-French-Taiwanese film My Family in Taipei by Shih-Ching Tsou (in theaters this Christmas with I Wonder Pictures), a longtime collaborator with Sean Baker (here co-writer, producer, and editor). It's the story of a family's return to a city that is both a place of memory and rebirth. "The decision on the awards was difficult because the selection was truly incredible. It was made with great, great care," said Paola Cortellesi, president of the Progressive Cinema competition, on the red carpet. "We've had the opportunity and the great motivation to debate immediately after every film we've ever seen, always all together. This is a wonderful thing. I'll miss watching three films a day, because I think we're so used to it now, but it's wonderful to discuss it immediately and talk about it, put the various points of view on the table and then make a decision."

On the sidelines, there's room for a comment on the budget cuts to the cinema sector: "It's extinguishing the cultural stimulus, it's extinguishing a country, which is why we were here yesterday with the workers, because cinema is made by thousands of workers, who must be supported like other sectors," Cortellesi emphasizes.

Last year, the actress won the Terna Audience Award at the Fest with her box office phenomenon debut, C'è Ancora Domani (There's Still Tomorrow). This year's award was also won by an Italian film, the documentary Roberto Rossellini - Più Di Una Vita (Roberto Rossellini - More Than a Life) by Ilaria de Laurentiis, Andrea Paolo Massara, and Raffaele Brunetti. Best Actress went to Jasmine Trinca for Gli Occhi degli Altri (The Eyes of Others) by Andrea De Sica, inspired by the Casati Stampa murder. "We're all lucky, because cinema forces us to empathize," Trinca commented on stage at an awards ceremony hosted by Ema Stokholma. "It forces us to sit still, to watch things happen and things exist. To listen to the voice, someone's voice, the voice of a six-year-old girl who is killed by inhumane people in Palestine, like the voice of a woman, searching in her own body, in her own desire, for the desire for freedom and emancipation. And so my thoughts are truly with all the women who have found this voice, with those who didn't think they had it, with those who, while searching, were silenced by violent men." Best Actor went to the intense Anson Boon for Jan Komasa's dark family fable Good Boy.

The Special Jury Prize goes to the cast of 40 Seconds, Vincenzo Alfieri's film about the 24 hours leading up to the murder of Willy Monteiro, played here by Justin De Vivo. "For me, as a beginner, receiving this recognition is a thrill," De Vivo says on stage with the other actors. "Playing Willy was a very intense adventure because he was a boy who never looked away." Among other awards, the prize for Best Documentary went to Yegor Troyanovsky's Cuba & Alaska, about two volunteer rescue soldiers deployed on the Ukrainian front, while the prize for Best First Feature went to Alberto Palmiero's Tienimi Presente: "I dedicate the film to all the people who are searching for their place in the world; the film was made for you." Alireza Khatami, winner of Best Screenplay for The Things You Kill, provided a controversial moment. The director accused film festivals of being created as a state instrument to serve the interests of colonial power. He added: "Let's not mistake your mild racism for neutrality; there is no neutrality when it comes to genocide (like in Gaza, ed.)." The Film Fest officially closes on October 26, but the numbers for the 20th edition are already in: total attendance 116,503 (+6%); tickets issued (public and accredited) 82,000; accreditations 4,337; free event admissions 29,007; tickets for theaters in the city 5,496; total press, web, and international articles 12,423; national and local articles 1,401; web articles 10,088 and international articles 717. For the 21st edition, see you from October 14 to 25, 2026.