Viagrande Short Film Fest

The Viagrande Short Film Fest

The Viagrande Short Film Fest is a film festival entirely dedicated to short films, taking place in Viagrande, a town in the Metropolitan City of Catania, at the foot of Mount Etna. The event is held outdoors at the Franco Battiato Amphitheatre, inside the picturesque Aniante Municipal Park, during an early September evening that combines screenings, award ceremonies, and meetings with filmmakers.

A showcase for short cinema

The festival welcomes short films with a maximum duration of 15 minutes, selected based on their quality, originality, and narrative strength. The festival reserves special attention for Sicilian short films and those with a historical setting, while promoting works by both emerging and established directors from around the world. Submissions are handled through the international platforms FilmFreeway and Festhome, which bring dozens of entries to Viagrande every year.

The awards

During the evening, numerous awards are presented, including the prize for best Sicilian short film, the historical award, the best under-30 short film, the best female-directed short film, the animation award, the jury prize, and the audience award. This format celebrates both local talent and international perspectives.

Organization and context

The event is organized by the LUDEtna Film Association, led by director and artistic director Lavinia Zammataro, with the patronage of the Municipality of Viagrande. Admission to the screenings is free, in line with the festival's educational mission to bring the public closer to the language of short film in a setting of great landscape beauty. As part of the cultural calendar of the Viagrande summer, the festival helps make this corner of the Catania province a small crossroads for independent cinema in Sicily.

An Etnean rendezvous

Between the slopes of Mount Etna and the greenery of Aniante Park, the Viagrande Short Film Fest offers an evening where the big screen engages with the landscape. Screenings are often accompanied by the presence of directors and guests from the film world, making each edition an opportunity for dialogue between creators and the audience.