Colli Albani Film Festival
Cinema meets the Castelli Romani at the Cinema AlFellini in Grottaferrata
About CAFF
A new film festival in the Castelli Romani
The Colli Albani Film Festival, known by its acronym CAFF, is the newest film event in the Castelli Romani area. Its first edition took place from March 24th to 26th, 2026, at the Cinema AlFellini in Grottaferrata, in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio. The event is promoted and organized by Piano B Produzioni under the artistic direction of producer Davide Fontana, with the patronage of the Municipality of Grottaferrata.
The festival was not born by chance in this corner of the Roman countryside: the Colli Albani have always been a natural film set just a stone's throw from Cinecittà, frequented by directors such as Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini, to whom the cinema hosting the festival is dedicated. CAFF aims to reconnect the territory with its cinematic vocation.
Competition sections
The first edition featured several competitive sections open to Italian and international filmmakers:
- Feature films (fiction and animation);
- Short films (fiction and a selection of animated shorts);
- Documentaries;
- Local works, reserved for films shot or produced in the region.
Awards include Best Film, Best Short Film, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary, Best Original Score, Best Local Work, and the Schools Award. Submissions are handled exclusively via the FilmFreeway platform, with regulations accepting films produced from 2017 onwards: a maximum of thirty minutes for shorts and at least seventy-five minutes for features.
An audience that votes, a jury that meets the authors
One of CAFF's distinctive features is the active role of the viewer: those attending the screenings are invited to cast their votes on the films presented. Alongside the international jury, composed of film and audiovisual professionals, there is a popular jury formed by students from the San Giuseppe Art High School, who award the Schools Prize. The three days alternate between screenings, premieres, and direct meetings with directors and authors, with in-depth discussions on the relationship between the camera and the Castelli landscape.
The link with the National Fair of Grottaferrata
The festival is part of the calendar of the historic National Fair of Grottaferrata, which reached its 426th edition in 2026, scheduled from March 21st to 29th. The collaboration between the two events allows cinema to integrate into one of the town's most deeply rooted traditions, attracting the fair's large crowds to the cinema: a choice that gave CAFF a broad and diverse audience from the very start.
What to expect
Visitors to the Colli Albani Film Festival will find a viewer-friendly event with a renovated theater, a curated selection, and the genuine opportunity to speak with the filmmakers. The organizers have also proposed an outdoor space for a future summer version of the event, a sign of a project designed to grow over the years. A visit to the festival is easily combined with a walk in the center of Grottaferrata and the nearby Abbey of San Nilo, one of the most important monuments of the Castelli Romani.
CAFF — edition 2026
The inaugural edition of CAFF
From March 24th to 26th, 2026, the Cinema AlFellini in Grottaferrata hosted the first edition of the Colli Albani Film Festival, organized by Piano B Produzioni under the artistic direction of Davide Fontana and with the patronage of the Municipality, in collaboration with the 426th National Fair of Grottaferrata (March 21-29).
The program alternated screenings of the works in competition — fiction and animated feature films, short films, documentaries, and local films — with special out-of-competition screenings and meetings with the authors. The audience was invited to vote for the films presented, working alongside the international jury of film and audiovisual professionals and the popular jury formed by students from the San Giuseppe Art High School.
The closing evening on March 26th, featuring the awards ceremony, was attended by, among others, director Davide Gentile and actor Franco Nero.
Programme CAFF 2026
Competition sections
- Feature films (fiction and animation): 6 selected works
- Short films: 20 fiction titles and 3 animated shorts
- Documentaries: 6 works
- Local works: up to 5 films made in the territory
Special out-of-competition screenings
- Io non sono nessuno by Geraldine Ottier
- Tre regole infallibili by Marco Gianfreda
- Il marchese del Grillo by Mario Monicelli, a classic presented by special guests
Winners of the first edition
- Best Film: L'algoritmo della felicità by Brando Improta
- Best Short Film: Papà by Nicholas Antonacci (special mention to Morî by Yakup Tekintangaç)
- Best Documentary: Una risata ci salverà by Michelangelo Gregori
- Best Animation: Dark Globe by Donato Sansone
- Best Original Score: Nicola Piovani for Prova d'amore
- Best Local Work: 8 settembre 1943, l'accordo nascosto by Daniele Tullio (special mention to Un'estate come altre 100 by Nemea Frigato)
- Out-of-competition honorary mention: Tre regole infallibili by Marco Gianfreda
- Schools Award: Cocci by Agnese Fallongo, voted by students of the San Giuseppe Art High School
All screenings took place at the Cinema AlFellini in Grottaferrata, on Via I Maggio. The exact daily schedules were released by the organizers via the official program available on the event website.
Highlights CAFF 2026
- First-ever film festival in the Castelli Romani, held in a historic cinema named after Federico Fellini
- Best Original Score award to Nicola Piovani for Prova d'amore
- Screening of Il marchese del Grillo by Mario Monicelli with special guests
- Awards ceremony with director Davide Gentile and actor Franco Nero
- Voting audience and the popular jury of San Giuseppe Art High School students
- Integration into the calendar of the 426th National Fair of Grottaferrata
Prices CAFF 2026
Practical information — CAFF
Location
All screenings are held at the Cinema AlFellini, on Via I Maggio in Grottaferrata (00046), in the Metropolitan City of Rome.
How to get there
By car: From Rome, take the Via Tuscolana (SS215) or the Anagnina road, exiting for Grottaferrata; the town center is about 20 km from the Grande Raccordo Anulare (Rome's ring road).
By public transport: The reference train station is Grottaferrata on the Rome-Frascati/Castelli Romani line; alternatively, reach the Anagnina stop on Rome's Metro A and continue with Cotral buses heading to the Castelli Romani.
Tickets and information
Entry fees are not communicated on the official website: it is best to check access and booking methods by writing to [email protected] or by visiting collialbanifilmfestival.it.
Tips
The festival dates coincide with the National Fair of Grottaferrata: the town center is very busy and parking can be difficult, so it is better to arrive early or leave your car in the peripheral parking areas.
Festival-goer photos
No photos yet. Share yours!
Share your photos
5 photos max, 5 MB per photo (JPG, PNG, WebP)
Noticed an error or missing information?
Help us keep this listing up to date. Every proposal is verified by our team before publication.
Festival-goer reviews
No rating yet — be the first!
No comments yet. Be the first!
Were you there?
Share your experience with the community.