Cinema of the Real and the Unreal Festival

A festival of visions in the heart of Salento

The Cinema of the Real and the Unreal Festival is one of the most original cultural events in Puglia's summer calendar. Established in 2004, the festival has become a national benchmark for documentary and experimental cinema, transforming the Castello Volante of Corigliano d'Otranto (Province of Lecce) every July into an open-air laboratory of visual and performing arts. The festival is more than just a film screening; it is a collective experience where projections, photography, music, performances, and live soundscapes merge into a single narrative.

The Castello Volante, the heart of the event

The venue is the evocative Castello Volante, located in the historic center of Corigliano d'Otranto, a town in the Grecìa Salentina area where Griko, the ancient language of Hellenic origin, is still preserved. The 16th-century castle, with its courtyard and halls, hosts open-air screens, exhibitions, and concerts, providing a unique setting where local history meets contemporary experimentation.

A dialogue between cinema, music, and visual arts

The festival's hallmark is its ability to foster a dialogue between different languages. Alongside documentary screenings, there are tributes to great masters of cinema, premieres, meetings with directors and artists, photography and contemporary visual arts exhibitions, as well as concerts, DJ sets, and musical aperitifs that accompany the Corigliano nights until dawn.

Competitions for young authors

The competitive heart of the event consists of competitions open to authors of all ages:

• Cortiiiiiii — short films up to 20 minutes, spanning documentary, fiction, experimental, animation, and video art;
• Cinema90 — ultra-short works up to 90 seconds, of any style or genre.

The competitions reward free-spirited vision and research, offering a valuable showcase for the new generation of independent cinema.

A project rooted in the Puglia region

The festival is promoted by the Big Sur association together with OfficinaVisioni and Cinema del reale, with the support of the Puglia Region and the collaboration of the Municipality of Corigliano d'Otranto and the Castello Volante. Over the years, the festival has built a vibrant cultural community, capable of attracting audiences, scholars, and artists from all over Italy and abroad to Salento.