Rome International Documentary Festival (RIDF)

A festival for creative documentary in Rome

The Rome International Documentary Festival (RIDF) is a Roman event entirely dedicated to authorial documentary cinema. Created to give visibility to a genre that produces over a hundred films a year in Italy but rarely reaches a mainstream audience, the festival has made its home at the Cinema Tibur, a historic venue in the San Lorenzo district, just a stone's throw from Sapienza University of Rome. Every December, the cinema opens its doors for five days of screenings, dialogues with directors, and masterclasses.

Sections and competitions

The program revolves around three competitions that define the festival's identity:

• WORLD-DOC — the best recently produced international feature documentaries;
• ITA-DOC — the competition reserved for Italian documentaries;
• SHORT-DOC — the section dedicated to documentary short films.

Alongside the competitions, there are Special Events and a thematic focus that changes every year, always with a special emphasis on human rights and major contemporary issues, inspired by the spirit of the Bill of Rights. All works are subtitled in English to welcome an international audience and foster exchange between Italian and foreign authors.

More than just screenings

RIDF is not just a film showcase: it is a meeting place for creators, professionals, students, and viewers. The masterclasses and dialogues with filmmakers create a dynamic space for discussion on the craft and future of documentary filmmaking, while the final awards ceremony celebrates the most significant titles in each section.

San Lorenzo and the Capital

Set in one of Rome's most vibrant and youthful districts in the Lazio region, the festival engages with the popular and academic soul of San Lorenzo, amidst bookstores, workshops, and cafes. Choosing a neighborhood cinema like the Cinema Tibur, rather than a large film palace, reflects the RIDF's vocation: a viewer-friendly festival where the documentary returns to being a collective experience and an opportunity for dialogue. It is now a highly anticipated appointment in the Capital's cultural landscape, capable of weaving together cinema of the real, civic engagement, and community.