Siloe Film Festival

Short cinema in the Maremma hills

The Siloe Film Festival is one of the most evocative film events in southern Tuscany. It takes place at the Siloe Monastery, surrounded by olive groves and forests in Poggi del Sasso, a village in the municipality of Cinigiano, in the heart of the Grosseto Maremma. Here, in a place of silence and prayer overlooking Mount Amiata, cinema becomes a space for encounter, dialogue, and reflection, far from the noise of mainstream festivals.

Conceived and organized by the Siloe Monastic Community in collaboration with the San Benedetto Cultural Center, the festival is an international competition dedicated to live-action and animated short films. Each edition revolves around a specific theme, inviting directors and authors from around the world to explore the great questions of our time through the language of film.

The tenth edition: 'Mediterranean of Hope'

In 2026, the Siloe Film Festival celebrates its tenth anniversary on July 23 and 24. The chosen theme is 'Mediterranean of Hope: A Bridge Between Shores', inspired by the vision of Giorgio La Pira and the Mediterranean Youth Council. The competition, promoted by the Mare Nostrum Network in collaboration with the CEI, features live-action and animated shorts produced between 2020 and 2026, with a maximum duration of thirty minutes.

From the entries, a committee selects eight films to be screened during the two evenings of the festival. They are evaluated by a jury composed of the organizing committee, the monastic community, and delegates from the Mediterranean Youth Council. Two main awards are presented: the 'Best Work' prize and the 'Mediterranean Laurel', both original artistic creations crafted for the occasion.

A new artistic director

The artistic direction for the tenth edition is entrusted to journalist and film critic Federico Pontiggia, who describes the festival's mission as building 'a bridge that projects and consolidates itself beyond the despair of current events.' It is a vision of cinema as a tool for fraternity and peace among the peoples and cultures bordering the Mediterranean.

A unique experience in Tuscany

What sets the Siloe Film Festival apart is its setting: the spirituality of the monastery, the Maremma landscape, and the silence broken only by the images on the screen. For those visiting the province of Grosseto in summer, it is an opportunity to discover a lesser-known corner of Tuscany, between Cinigiano, Montalcino, and the slopes of Mount Amiata, combining auteur cinema with the beauty of the territory.