Via dei Corti — Independent Short Film Festival

A short film festival in the heart of the Etna region

Via dei Corti is the Independent Short Film Festival held annually in Gravina di Catania, a town in the metropolitan area of Catania, Sicily. Established in 2014 and organized by the Gravina Arte Cultural Association in collaboration with the Municipality, the festival has become one of the most anticipated events in the Sicilian film scene, attracting filmmakers from all over Italy and abroad.

An international competition open to all filmmakers

The core of the event is the international competition, open to Italian and foreign filmmakers (foreign shorts must be subtitled in Italian), featuring short films of any genre with a maximum duration of twenty minutes. Alongside the main competition, the festival organizes its program into several thematic sections:

• Documentary Section — storytelling through the lens of directors;
• Animated Short Film Competition — dedicated to independent animation;
• Film in Sicily — works set or produced on the island;
• Globus Award for the promotion of the Sicilian territory;
• CineMigrare Award — focusing on themes of migration and inclusion;
• School Shorts and Campus Section — reserved for young filmmakers and schools;
• Via dei Corti Acting Contest — the competition for actors and actresses.

Awards, juries, and guests

The competing works are evaluated by a main jury composed of artists and film professionals, supported by a critics' jury, a popular jury, and a youth jury. The festival also presents lifetime achievement awards and honors for Sicilian talent, which over the years have celebrated directors, actors, and technicians from the island. The awards ceremony, featuring the presentation of prizes and meetings with the authors, concludes the event.

The venue: Angelo Musco Auditorium

Screenings take place at the Angelo Musco Auditorium of the Civic Center, on Viale dell'Unione Europea in Gravina di Catania, with side activities also hosted in the Sala delle Arti. Admission to the screenings is free, in line with the festival's independent and grassroots vocation, designed to bring the general public closer to auteur short cinema.

An appointment for the province of Catania

Now firmly established in the autumn cultural calendar of the province of Catania, Via dei Corti represents an important showcase for independent cinema and an opportunity to promote the Sicilian territory, its creators, and its stories.