Palladium Film Festival – CineMaOltre

A festival that looks «beyond»

The Palladium Film Festival – CineMaOltre is the film event that has been enlivening the Teatro Palladium for over fifteen years, located in the historic Garbatella district of Rome. Its name says it all: «CineMaOltre» (CinemaBeyond) is an invitation to cross boundaries—between genres, techniques, and generations—to view cinema as a constantly evolving territory. It is not just a simple film festival, but a genuine place for meeting and exchanging ideas around images.

Who organizes it

The festival is promoted by the Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts of Roma Tre University, in collaboration with the Fondazione Roma Tre Teatro Palladium, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture. It was conceived and directed by Vito Zagarrio, with Christian Uva as scientific director and organizational management entrusted to Matteo Santandrea. The strong bond with the university is felt in every choice: plenty of space for young authors, DAMS filmmaking workshops, film schools, and academic perspectives on the contemporary world.

What to see

Each edition weaves together multiple facets of cinema: debut works and the most recent Italian productions, documentaries with a social focus, restorations of classics brought back to their former glory, and a rich program of short films in competition. Screenings are almost always accompanied by meetings with directors, actors, critics, and scholars, transforming the theater into a space for open dialogue.

• Carta Bianca: the competition reserved for young authors under 30, featuring fiction shorts, documentaries, and web series created by universities, film schools, and academies.
• University Section: works from the DAMS Roma Tre Filmmaking workshops and the «Dietro l'angolo» (Around the Corner) section dedicated to academic research.
• Meetings and round tables: debates on the role and responsibilities of images in the present day.

Garbatella and the Teatro Palladium

The setting is one of Rome's most beloved spots: the Teatro Palladium, a rationalist jewel in Piazza Bartolomeo Romano, the cultural heart of Garbatella, the quintessential working-class and cinematic district of the Capital. We are in the Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the heart of Lazio: a context that makes the festival not only an appointment for cinephiles, but also a way to experience an authentic piece of the city.

Why attend

Because it is one of the few festivals where auteur cinema, university research, and the public meet as equals, without barriers and almost always with free admission. Three intense days to discover films that rarely reach theaters and to listen to those who made them tell their stories in person.