Cineforum Seraphicum - Fratello Cinema

A sixty-year history in the heart of the EUR district

The Cineforum Seraphicum was founded in 1964 by Father Faustino Ossanna as the "Roma EUR Film Culture Club," initially hosted at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. In 1967, it moved to the Seraphicum college at Via del Serafico 1, where it remains today. During that first Roman season, the auditorium welcomed guests of the caliber of Roberto Rossellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini. It is one of the longest-running cineforum experiences in the Municipality of Rome and the entire Lazio region, a place where cinema goes beyond mere projection to become an opportunity for critical reflection on the present.

From student club to subscription model

Managed in its early years by university students, the Cineforum was structured around 1982 by Father Francesco Saverio Pancheri, who introduced the two-shift subscription system—Friday evening and Saturday afternoon—which remains the basis for participation today. Directors have included Professor Milan Holc, Friar Corrado Algarotti, and Professor Fabio Di Nicola, each leaving their own mark on the selection of titles.

"Fratello Cinema": the contemporary project

Since 2023, the series has been renewed under the title "Fratello Cinema", a project of cinema, culture, and spirituality curated by the Friars Minor Conventual of the Seraphicum together with the Pontifical Foundation Fratelli Tutti, with the patronage of the Roma Lazio Film Commission and the support of the distributor Lucky Red. The first edition, which concluded in February 2024, featured eleven films organized into three thematic paths—women's stories, the ecological emergency, and the Christian narrative in contemporary cinema—with twenty-one guests and over 2,100 attendees in four months.

How an evening unfolds

Each event does not end with the closing credits: the screening is always followed by a guided debate with professionals from the worlds of entertainment, culture, and theology, who help the audience interpret the film and its metaphors. This formula has attracted well-known names in Italian cinema over the years, who have visited the auditorium to meet the audience after the screening.

• Screenings in two weekly shifts: Friday evening and Saturday afternoon
• Annual thematic film path, introduced by an opening conference
• Debate with guests after every film
• Auditorium located within the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure

A local cultural hub

Located between the Laurentino and EUR districts, in an area of Rome where the offer of art-house cinemas is limited, the Cineforum Seraphicum has served as a local cultural hub for decades. The audience consists of long-time subscribers from the neighborhood, university students, and viewers arriving from all over the capital, drawn by the quality of the selection and the depth of the debates. For those visiting Rome and the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, it is a non-touristy but authentic way to experience the city's cultural life during the cold season, when the large outdoor festivals of Lazio are on hiatus.