LAC Film Festival

A new short film festival in Rome

The LAC Film Festival was established in 2026 as an initiative of the Laboratorio d'Arte Cinematografica, a film school based in Rome at via Carlo Emery 47, in the Saxa Rubra-Labaro area, in the northern quadrant of the capital. Created in synergy with Film Daedalus and under the artistic direction of Alessandro Colizzi, the festival dedicates its first edition, scheduled from July 10th to 12th, 2026, to short films, documentaries, and the visual arts, in a constant dialogue between training, professional practice, and the public.

The competition: "Open to All" and "Student" categories

The heart of the event is the competition for Italian short films, organized into two sections: "Open to All", reserved for independent authors and productions, and "Student", dedicated to young directors in training. The juries, composed of audiovisual professionals and film instructors, award prizes for the best short film, best performance, and the audience award for each section. These are joined by special recognitions offered by the festival's partners: CCS - Collettivo Chiaroscuro, Slim Dogs, and Pathos Distribution.

Screenings, documentaries, and civic memory

Alongside the competition, the program offers out-of-competition screenings, documentaries, and a strong emphasis on civic memory. Featured titles include As If We Were Tuna by Francesco Zizola, about the last traditional tuna fishery in Sardinia, the documentary Io lo so chi siete dedicated to Vincenzo Agostino, and the works Memorie - In viaggio verso Auschwitz and Claudia fa brutti sogni. A tribute to director Giuseppe Colizzi is also planned, with a presentation of the film Dio perdona... io no!.

Guests and meetings

The three-day event intertwines screenings with moments of discussion with authors and professionals. Announced guests include photojournalist Francesco Zizola, Angelo Turetta, the Slim Dogs collective, Endo_Vena, and Simone Del Vecchio (SDV), as well as representatives from Libera - Associazioni, nomi e numeri contro le mafie. There will also be a photography exhibition, live panels, and a program that highlights the bond between the school, its students, and the neighborhood.

An event for Rome and the Lazio region

Hosted in the Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and the Lazio region, the LAC Film Festival presents itself as a new opportunity for emerging cinema in the city's northern suburbs. The choice of Saxa Rubra-Labaro, far from the festival circuits of the city center, underscores the project's local vocation: bringing new visions of short cinema into an educational context, open to spectators and attentive to themes of citizenship and memory.