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Paola Malanga is the artistic director of the Rome Film Fest, which kicks off on October 13 with the world premiere of The Sound of Something New (Il Rumore Delle Cose Nuove) by Paolo Genovese, the director of the local hit Perfect Strangers.
It is Malanga’s fifth edition at the helm of the festival, having joined in 2022 from Rai Cinema. The 2026 line-up includes world premieres for Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Bille August’sMe, You and Alexandre Castagnetti’s The Phantom Of The Opera. Both are playing in Rome’s non-competitive Grand Public section.
Rome’s Progressive Cinema international competition comprises 18 titles, including UK director Clio Bernard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning and US filmmaker Tim Blake Nelson’s The Life And Deaths Of Wilson Shedd.
High-profile international films also launching into Italy in the festival’s non-competitive sections include The Debut, The Beloved, De Gaulle, Elsinore, I Play Rocky, La Bola Negra, and Fatherland.
Javier Bardem, Julianne Moore and UK producer Tessa Ross are all receiving lifetime achievement awards.
What themes stand out in this year’s programme?
The best place to start is the image that inspires this edition [on the Rome Film Fest poster] of the iconic Monica Vitti on the set of Michelangelo Antonioni’s [1962 film] Eclipse, which is very meaningful nowadays. The picture is black and white, from a post-war, kind of post-apocalyptic world. The only sign of nature is a tree, but with no leaves. The architecture is very geometric and cold. Eclipse is like an alert for our present times, which are really dark – and becoming darker. We wanted to start from that and go on, thinking of the genius of Antonioni and trying to find some antidotes to this scenario.
So the programme is an acknowledgement of these difficult times, but also tries to present alternatives?
Yes, it’s also a reaction. Memory informs our present, and is one of the themes from some of the best titles of the year, like Fatherland, La Bola Negra and A Man Of His Time. But we have to go on and find new reasons, new filmmakers and new stories to keep us human. Human is another key word. I’m optimistic that art and film can really help us to cope with these difficult times. So, we start from an eclipse, but also have light. For example, Elsinore or The Debut are both set in the theatre, and are about how to live a full, meaningful life or the chance to make your life better for yourself and other people too.
And for the progressive competition, you’re looking for films that push boundaries?
Yes, from different points of view, different countries, and different generations. It is time for a new generation to have a significant place in the industry. The jury for the progressive, first feature and documentary awards are almost all in their 40s. We need a new generation. Baby boomers are still in power everywhere, especially in Italy. I’m curious to see what these juries will choose.
You’ve got some interesting world premieres as well, like the Bille August film and Phantom Of The Opera.
Phantom Of The Opera is a classic of French literature, and a very rich film. The Bille August film is an Italian story, taken from the book by Erri De Luca, set in the past, but with a fresh and wonderful young generation of talent. Both films are in the spirit of this city festival. This is a city festival that wants to address the different audiences that a big city naturally has.
Is that how you pitch the festival, as a city festival?
Yes, absolutely, the city of Rome, and also a lot of tourists who are in town. One of our goals is to get films that we love to circulate, to find their audience, to get better box office, and to have a longer life. We are very happy that year by year we can get more world premieres, but circulation is very important because otherwise a film can die at the first festival and never find a distributor or a real audience. That’s why we take films from other festivals.
And the festival is playing an important role for Italian buyers, and for international sales agents who are looking to sell into Italy as well?
Yes. For example, last year Jan Komasa’s Good Boy and Pauline Loquès’ Nino were sold just before the festival started. After the press conference [announcing the line-up], the distributors asked for screeners for the films. This year there were requests for screeners for titles like A Dangerous Game by Karine Sillar with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, UK filmThe State of Us by Ollie Gardner and Jake Harvey, and Swedish director Lisa Forsland’s world premiere Clemintine Orange.
This is your fifth year – how has the festival changed in that time?
Rome Film Fest is now more international. International sales agents and distributors engage very strongly with the festival, so the offer is much wider and more complete. At the same time, we have a very strong response from the audience.
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