Dieciminuti Film Festival

A festival that turned ten minutes into an art form

The Dieciminuti Film Festival is the longest-running and most renowned film event in the province of Frosinone. For over two decades, it has collected, selected, and screened short films from around the world, driven by the belief that a few minutes are enough to tell a complete story. Born from an idea by the IndieGesta cultural association, the festival has carved out a significant space in the national short film landscape, becoming a reference point for emerging directors, film schools, and independent authors.

The competitive sections

The competition structure is designed to embrace diverse languages and durations without ever betraying the festival's original vocation for brevity:

• Official Selection — fiction short films up to 10 minutes;
• Extralarge — works between 10 and 15 minutes;
• Animations — animated short films up to 10 minutes;
• DOC10 — short documentaries up to 10 minutes;
• Visti da Vicino — a section reserved for authors from the province of Frosinone.

This last section is perhaps the most defining: it is the way the festival gives visibility back to the Ciociaria region, placing films shot between Frosinone, Ceccano, and neighboring towns on the same screen as international works.

A truly international scope

Every year, submissions arrive from dozens of nations: the 2026 edition received 838 works from all over the world, while the 2025 twentieth-anniversary edition exceeded one thousand entries from 74 countries. The festival has always championed cinema from regions with fragile or non-existent distribution channels, giving a voice to authors from contexts where producing a film is an act of resistance in itself. The result is a program where it is possible to see, in the same evening, a Taiwanese animation, a Greek documentary, and a short film shot just a few kilometers from the theater.

The Dream Cinema, home of the festival

The event's headquarters is the Dream Cinema in Frosinone, where evening screenings and the awards ceremony take place. The formula is simple and proven: a series of consecutive evenings, a different program every night, juries composed of industry professionals, and—notably—free admission, a choice that has allowed the festival to build a loyal and diverse audience of enthusiasts, students, and curious filmgoers over the years.

Juries, awards, and training

The competing works are evaluated by an official jury chaired each year by a prominent figure in Italian cinema, supported by a jury dedicated to animations that actively involves students from the « A. G. Bragaglia » Art High School in Frosinone. In addition to awards for the best film in each section, the list of winners includes technical awards—screenplay, cinematography, editing, soundtrack—and acting awards, as well as the IndieGesta Award and the Audience Award.

Why it is worth attending

In a Lazio region where film offerings gravitate almost entirely toward Rome, the Dieciminuti Film Festival proves that a high-quality international event can be built far from the capital. For those visiting the Ciociaria capital during the festival, it is an opportunity to discover a city that rarely appears on Lazio's tourist itineraries, combining evenings at the cinema with a walk through the upper part of Frosinone and a taste of local Ciociaria cuisine.