Porretta Terme Cinema Festival

A festival born from the spirit of free cinema

The Porretta Terme Cinema Festival (FCP) has been held since 2002 in the spa town of Porretta Terme, which since 2016 has been part of the Municipality of Alto Reno Terme, in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines in the Province of Bologna. The event inherits the legacy of the International Exhibition of Free Cinema, the "anti-festival" active in Porretta from 1960 to 1985 and considered one of the most important events in Italian alternative cinema. The programming still stems from that non-conformist spirit today, focusing on authors and films that struggle to find space in commercial circuits.

Festival sections

Each edition is divided into several established sections, curated by artistic director Luca Elmi:

• Monographic retrospective with Lifetime Achievement Award: a great world cinema author is honored with a review of their films and a career award. Past recipients include Marco Bellocchio, Francesco Rosi, Ken Loach, and Margarethe von Trotta.
• "Fuori dal Giro" Competition: established in 2013, it showcases quality cinema with limited distribution opportunities, featuring an audience award and a youth jury.
• Elio Petri National Award: established in 2019 in memory of the director, it celebrates contemporary Italian cinema that echoes his themes and style.
• Side sections such as "Uno sguardo altrove" (A Look Elsewhere), meetings with authors, and initiatives dedicated to the relationship between cinema and schools.

Venues in Porretta Terme

The heart of the festival is the historic Cinema Kursaal on Via Giuseppe Mazzini, joined by other local cinemas such as Cinema Nuovo in Vergato, while meetings and author hospitality take place in venues like the Hotel Helvetia. The intimate scale of the spa town makes the experience particularly convivial: spectators easily meet directors and guests between screenings.

An experience between cinema and thermal baths

Porretta Terme has always been a spa destination in the Bolognese Apennines: attending the festival means combining a passion for auteur cinema with the discovery of a land of waters, woods, and traditions. The event is promoted by the Porretta Cinema Cultural Association with the support of the Municipality of Alto Reno Terme and the Emilia-Romagna Region, and maintains low ticket prices to encourage broad public access.