Casalvieri Film Festival

Short films arrive in Casalvieri

The Casalvieri Film Festival is an international event dedicated to auteur short films, held in the historic center of Casalvieri, a small town in the province of Frosinone located in the heart of the Valle di Comino, in Lazio. Founded in 2025 by the Generazione 128 APS association in partnership with the Municipality of Casalvieri, the festival aims to highlight the Ciociaria region through cinema and promote cultural and local tourism by bringing international works to an inland village.

Two competition categories

The heart of the festival is the competition, divided into two sections with cash prizes:

• International Short Film (maximum duration 20 minutes);
• Documentary (maximum duration 40 minutes).

In addition to the two main awards, several special mentions and two special prizes are presented. Foreign short films are screened with subtitles for the local audience. The festival has a strong international focus and encourages cinema created with smartphones and low budgets, as well as works that showcase local heritage and social or political satire.

Screenings and meetings

During the three-day finale, the jury selects the winners and mentions from the competing works. The days alternate between screenings of the competing short films and meetings with the filmmakers, opening ceremonies with institutional greetings, and special evening feature film screenings. The 2026 edition featured, among other events, an introduction by journalist Chiara Carla Napoletano, a meeting with director and producer Guido Calanca and editor Matteo Quarta, as well as special screenings of the films La Terza Volta and Wonderwell.

Festival venues

Screenings and meetings are held in the Municipal Council Chamber and the adjacent Piazza Municipio in the town's historic center: a setup that combines the indoor venue with the cool air of summer evenings outdoors. Admission is free, subject to availability.

A festival rooted in the territory

The event is sponsored by the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio and, since its first edition, has built collaborations with auteur cinema organizations such as ANAC and the SalinaDocFest. The Casalvieri Film Festival is part of the Estate Casalvierana program and is now one of the most vibrant cultural events of the summer in the Valle di Comino, bringing great international short cinema to a village in the Ciociaria.