Arena Nuovo Sacher

A summer arena that has become a Roman institution

The Arena Nuovo Sacher is much more than just a summer film series: it is one of the most iconic cinematic rituals of the Roman summer. Every year, starting in late June, the courtyard of the Cinema Nuovo Sacher in Largo Ascianghi, in the Trastevere district, is equipped with a screen, seating, and a projector to welcome spectators during the city's warmest nights. The venue, historically linked to Nanni Moretti, who acts as its host, brings his signature editorial vision outdoors: a curated, auteur-driven cinema that rejects the logic of mere summer filler.

The Program

The lineup gathers the best of the recently concluded film season, with a particular focus on Italian and European cinema. Many titles are presented in their original version with subtitles, a choice that has become a hallmark of the arena and is quite rare in the Roman open-air cinema landscape. Alongside films already released in theaters, the program includes premieres and revivals of works that had too brief a run in commercial circuits.

• Films from the recently concluded season, in Italian and in original language with subtitles
• Premieres and revivals of auteur titles
• Special evenings with directors, screenwriters, and actors in attendance
• Constant attention to debuts and emerging Italian cinema

Meetings with the Authors

This is the arena's distinctive feature: on many evenings, the screening is preceded or followed by a meeting with the film's creators. These are not ritualistic presentations, but genuine dialogues with the audience, often moderated by Moretti himself, who has made this format a recognizable signature. For Roman spectators, it is an opportunity to go behind the scenes of the year's most discussed films in an intimate, informal setting, far removed from the red carpets of major festivals.

Bimbi Belli, the showcase for debuts

Over the years, the Bimbi Belli — new Italian cinema section has become a staple of the festival, dedicated to debut works of Italian cinema personally selected by Nanni Moretti. Each screening is accompanied by a discussion with the author, and a jury composed of audience members awards prizes to the most compelling works and performers at the end. It is one of the few occasions in Italy where the public itself becomes an active part of the critical judgment.

Trastevere, the arena's neighborhood

Largo Ascianghi is located just a few steps from Viale Trastevere, in the district that captures the nocturnal soul of Rome and the Lazio region better than any other. Leaving the screening, you find yourself in the streets of one of the city's liveliest neighborhoods, among historic taverns, gelaterias, and squares that remain animated until late at night. Many spectators combine the cinema evening with a stroll toward Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere or along the Tiber, a combination that explains much of the arena's success.

Atmosphere and Audience

The Arena Nuovo Sacher audience is loyal and diverse: long-time cinephiles, university students, local residents, and foreign visitors drawn by the subtitled screenings. The limited capacity and the intimate layout of the courtyard create a climate of real focus, quite different from the dispersal of some larger arenas. In case of rain, screenings are not cancelled but moved indoors to the cinema hall: a guarantee appreciated by those planning their evening a few days in advance.

Why it's worth visiting

Anyone visiting Rome in the summer will find an experience here that is hard to replicate elsewhere: watching a good film outdoors in a city that offers so many beautiful August evenings, perhaps while listening to the director recount the film's genesis. At a deliberately affordable ticket price, the arena remains one of the most authentic ways to experience Roman culture outside the most beaten tourist paths.