Mirtense Film Festival (formerly Grande Cinema Italiano Review)

Italian cinema under the Sabina stars

The Mirtense Film Festival is the premier summer film event in Poggio Mirteto, located in the province of Rieti in the heart of the Sabina region of Lazio. Originally launched as the Grande Cinema Italiano Review and reaching its 35th edition in 2026, it is one of the longest-running and most beloved events in the local summer calendar. For one full week, Parco San Paolo turns into an open-air arena where the entire town gathers at sunset.

A showcase dedicated to contemporary Italian cinema

The festival's format has remained true to its roots over the years: one film every night, almost always selected from the most significant Italian releases of the recently concluded season. Rather than an international competitive festival, it is a high-quality showcase that brings films to the province that are often hard to find elsewhere during the summer months when theaters close. It is a cultural service as much as an event: cinema returning to the heart of community life.

Alongside feature films, the program has for years included an evening dedicated to short films—a precious space for independent production and young directors—and a family evening featuring an animated title, ensuring even the youngest audience members have their own night at the arena.

Parco San Paolo, the heart of the Mirtense summer

Parco San Paolo, located along Via Antonio Gramsci, gives the festival its unique character. A large screen, open-air seating, and the evening breeze cooling the valley after the scorching days in the Tiber Valley: collective open-air viewing restores a shared dimension to film that indoor cinemas have lost. Before and during the screenings, the food stand managed by the Pro Loco is as much an integral part of the evening as the film itself.

An event built by the community

The event is organized by the Pro Loco of Poggio Mirteto in partnership with the Municipality of Poggio Mirteto, with the support of the Fondazione Varrone and the collaboration of the Grande Cinema Italiano association. It is a model of cultural volunteering typical of small towns in Lazio: without massive budgets, but with a continuity spanning over thirty years that has made the festival a landmark for the entire Sabina region.

The setting: Poggio Mirteto and Sabina

Poggio Mirteto is the main hub of the lower Sabina area in Rieti, a medieval village overlooking the Tiber Valley, famous for its Porta Farnese and its compact historic center. The film festival is part of a particularly busy Mirtense summer: immediately following it, in mid-July, the town hosts the Mirtense Music Week, forming a pair of fixed appointments that have marked the local cultural season for years.

Why attend

• Eight consecutive nights of recent Italian cinema, in original version on a large outdoor screen
• Affordable ticket prices, designed to be accessible to everyone
• Short film night and family night, for a broad, intergenerational audience
• Pro Loco food stand open every evening
• An opportunity to discover the Sabina region, just over an hour from Rome