Paradiso Film Fest

A festival born from the magic of cinema

The Paradiso Film Fest is an independent film festival held every summer in Palazzo Adriano, an evocative Arbëreshë village in the Province of Palermo, nestled in the mountains of west-central Sicily. Established in 2019, the festival owes its identity to an extraordinary connection: the town's famous octagonal square, Piazza Umberto I, served as the primary natural set for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, the film by Giuseppe Tornatore that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990. Since then, Palazzo Adriano has become a symbolic destination for lovers of the seventh art.

The competition and programming

At the heart of the festival is the international short film and documentary competition, which selects works from around the world each year, evaluated by a jury of industry professionals. Screenings are held in the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso Museum hall and outdoors, while the village square and streets host a rich program of side events. The festival is not just about cinema: it includes masterclasses, talks with directors and actors, photography exhibitions, traveling installations, book presentations, theatrical performances, and live concerts that bring courtyards and squares to life until late at night.

A tribute to Tornatore and Italian cinema

Each edition pays homage to the local cinematic memory with recreations of famous scenes, screenings of classics, and the presence of guests linked to the history of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Over the years, the event has seen the participation of actors and protagonists from the film, who return to the village where the movie came to life. The inauguration of the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso Museum has further strengthened the town's vocation as a destination for film tourism.

A free event in the Madonie mountains

Paradiso Film Fest is an event with free admission, designed to enhance the cultural and landscape heritage of an authentic and lesser-known area of Sicily. Summer evenings under the starry sky of the Madonie offer visitors an experience that intertwines auteur cinema, music, local traditions, and the warm hospitality of the Municipality of Palazzo Adriano. Organized by the Municipality together with the Associazione Ingegni, the festival represents a model for the development of small villages through culture.