Schermi di Piombo - Shadows and Powers

Cinema as a mirror of Italian history

Schermi di Piombo - Shadows and Powers is the film festival that transforms Rome's EUR Social Park into a hub for cinema and public debate every summer. Promoted by the EUR Social Park itself under the artistic direction of Leonardo Scuderi, the event is built on a clear vision: using great cinema to navigate the most controversial pages of Italy's recent history, from organized crime to hidden powers, and from investigative journalism to the justice system.

The second edition: the 1990s and 2000s

Following the success of the first edition, which focused on the 1970s and 1980s and was symbolically opened by the Piazza Fontana massacre, the 2026 festival shifts its focus to the next decades, adopting the subtitle Shadows and Powers - Italy behind the scenes. This new journey explores the 1990s and 2000s: crucial seasons marked by the Capaci and Via D'Amelio bombings, the Mani Pulite investigation, the transition from the First to the Second Republic, and the social and economic shifts of the so-called new economy. Cinema thus becomes a tool to re-examine the dynamics of power, corruption, and collective consciousness.

Films and special guests

The strength of the festival lies in the intersection of screenings and dialogue. Before each film, a talk brings together journalists, actors, directors, essayists, magistrates, and direct witnesses to provide the audience with keys to interpretation and opportunities for discussion. The 2026 edition features titles such as I Banchieri di Dio, Il Portaborse, Paolo Sorrentino's Loro, Gomorra, Suburra, and Tutta la vita davanti, accompanied by prominent voices including criminologists, anti-mafia magistrates, and well-known figures from journalism and entertainment.

A green space in the heart of the EUR district

The evenings take place outdoors at the EUR Social Park, with the entrance on Viale di Val Fiorita, just a short walk from the Eur Magliana metro station in the capital's EUR district. It is a quintessential Roman summer experience: evening screenings under the stars in a redeveloped green space that has become a landmark for local culture and civic participation in the Municipality of Rome and the Lazio region.

A free and civic-minded festival

Supported by the patronage of Roma Capitale and in collaboration with Eur Spa, with media partnership from Eur District, Schermi di Piombo reaffirms its popular and civic vocation: admission is free until capacity is reached. It is not just a simple film club, but an event that combines historical memory, civic engagement, and the pleasure of cinema to tell the story of the Italy hiding behind the scenes of power to a wide audience.