Cinema at the Pontone — Emerging Female Directors (Est Film Festival, Marta stop)

Cinema arrives on the lake shore

Every summer, the Parco del Pontone, the green strip along the lakefront of Marta in the province of Viterbo, turns into an open-air cinema for two nights. It is the Marta stop of the EFF / Lake Bolsena circuit, a widespread project born from the twenty-year experience of the Est Film Festival in Montefiascone, now expanded to the villages overlooking Europe's largest volcanic lake.

The formula is simple and successful: a screen set up among the trees, chairs on the lawn, the sound of water just a few meters away, and free admission for everyone. In recent years, the screenings have moved from the parking lot to the park's wooded area, enhancing the atmosphere and comfort for the audience.

«Perspectives. Emerging Female Directors»

The showcase hosted in Marta has a clear identity: giving visibility to Italian female directors at their debut or second feature film. This is not a showcase of experimental shorts, but rather fiction films already released in theaters, selected from titles that have marked the most recent seasons of Italian cinema signed by women. It is a choice consistent with the spirit of the Est Film Festival, which has always awarded debut and sophomore works by Italian authors in its main section.

The evenings are non-competitive: there are no juries or prizes at the Pontone. It is a viewing showcase designed for a mixed audience of residents and vacationers who flock to the lake in August, with the opportunity to chat with the festival staff before and after the screening.

Marta, the Fishermen's Village and Tuscia

The Municipality of Marta is one of the most characteristic centers on the southern shore of Lake Bolsena, in northern Lazio. Its old town descends in tiers toward the small harbor, dominated by the Clock Tower, while the Fishermen's Village lines the shore—a neighborhood tied to lake fishing (whitefish, silverside, eel) that still defines the local cuisine today. The town is known throughout the Viterbo Tuscia area also for the Festa delle Passate in mid-May, one of the most popular historical re-enactments in the region.

Attending a screening at the Pontone therefore means combining two experiences: an evening of quality cinema and the discovery of a human-scale lakeside village, where the sunset over the Bisentina and Martana islands provides a natural backdrop to the screen.

Who organizes it

The festival is curated by the Associazione Factotum A.P.S., with the artistic direction coordinating the entire EFF / Lake Bolsena circuit, in collaboration with the Municipal Administration of Marta, the Lazio Region, and local associations. The summer calendar includes, in addition to Marta, stops in Montefiascone (main edition in July), Valentano, Capodimonte, Bolsena, and Gradoli, for a whole summer of open-air cinema among beaches and villages.

Tips for the evening

• Screenings begin after sunset, generally around 9:00 PM: arriving half an hour early helps find a seat and parking.
• The area is outdoors and near the water: a light sweater is useful even in August, as is mosquito repellent.
• Many spectators bring a blanket or a folding chair to be more comfortable on the lawn.
• Before the screening, it is worth having dinner at one of the lakefront restaurants, where lake fish is the house specialty.