Corto Mon Amour (The Cineclub)

A neighborhood film forum in the heart of San Giovanni

Corto Mon Amour is one of the recurring festivals at The Cineclub, an independent cultural space located at Via Lidia 46, in the 7th Municipality of Rome, between the San Giovanni and Appio Latino neighborhoods, just a few hundred meters from Parco della Caffarella. The venue is a converted 1950s printing house: not a multiplex, but a club where cinema returns to being an occasion for meeting, discussion, and conviviality. The festival dedicated to short films is, in a sense, its manifesto.

The format: four shorts and a singer-songwriter

Each Corto Mon Amour event features four short films centered around a single theme. The screening is followed by a live performance from an Italian singer-songwriter who works on the same topics touched upon by the films: the concert is not just closing entertainment, but a second look at the evening's theme. Between segments, there is time for interaction with the directors in attendance, audience Q&A, and informal discussion at the bistro bar.

It is a formula that puts independent cinema and young authors at the center: in Italy, the short film remains the format where there is the most experimentation and the least exposure, and festivals like this give them back a theater and an audience.

The theater and the space

• Cinema hall with 42 seats, a 4-meter screen, 4K HDR video projector, and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound system;
• Debate and live show hall with 80 seats, hosting meetings, concerts, and stand-up comedy;
• Exhibition space for photography and contemporary art shows;
• Bistro offering aperitifs, dinners, and after-dinner drinks, with a restaurant area upstairs overlooking the stage.

A club, not just any cinema

The Cineclub was born from the Bladerunner association, active in cinema since 2016, and is a members-only space: access is via a membership card, and programming is free for members. The intent is clear: those who enter are not passive spectators but part of a neighborhood cultural community, with screenings, readings, debates, theatrical improvisations, and experimental workshops.

Alongside Corto Mon Amour, the club's programming has hosted regional film festivals paired with local cuisine, original language films with dinner, meetings with Italian film directors and authors, and the war-themed series Semi di Pace.

When and how to participate

The Cineclub is open from Thursday to Sunday, roughly from 7:30 PM to midnight, and Corto Mon Amour returns to the schedule multiple times throughout the season: it does not have a fixed annual date, but follows the club's weekly programming, announced periodically on social channels and the newsletter. The 2025 autumn season restarted on September 13th after the summer break.

Rome, Lazio, and short cinema

In a city that hosts major film events, the Roman short film scene thrives primarily in small, stubborn spaces like this one. The Cineclub is part of a network of independent theaters and cultural circles that, in Lazio and particularly in Rome's historic districts, keep auteur programming alive outside commercial circuits. For those visiting the city who want an evening different from the tourist center, it is a great vantage point on the Italian cinema being made today.