Trieste Film Festival

The Gateway to Eastern Cinema

Overlooking the eastern border, Trieste has always been a bridge between Italy and the Central European and Balkan world. It is therefore not surprising that the Trieste Film Festival was born here in 1989, today the most important Italian festival dedicated to Central and Eastern European cinema. A project by Alpe Adria Cinema, born from the intuition of Annamaria Percavassi, which every January brings the most interesting and lesser-known voices of Eastern cinema to the city.

Competitions, Premieres, and Discoveries

For nine days, the city comes alive with screenings: the international feature film competition, the documentary and short film competitions, Italian premieres of titles fresh from Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, and sections dedicated to new languages and queer themes. Alongside these is the Corso Salani Award, reserved for independent Italian cinema. Over one hundred and twenty events, including films, masterclasses, and talks, make up each edition.

The City's Historic Cinemas

The heart of the festival beats at the Politeama Rossetti, the historic theatre that hosts the gala evenings, alongside the Teatro Miela and the Cinema Ambasciatori. Under the artistic direction of Nicoletta Romeo, the festival maintains a rigorous authorial identity, each year awarding the best films with the Trieste Award and presenting the Eastern Star Award to a prominent personality from Eastern cinema.

More Than a Festival, a Community

Supported by the Municipality of Trieste and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, the Trieste Film Festival is also a meeting point for directors, producers, and critics from all over Europe. Experiencing the festival means discovering stories and perspectives that rarely reach the mainstream circuits, in a city that has made the encounter between cultures its identity.