VITERBOshort - Short Film Festival

A short film festival in the heart of Tuscia

VITERBOshort - Short Film Festival is the event that brought high-quality short cinema back to Viterbo, the capital of the province of the same name in northern Lazio. Hosted in the historic Teatro San Leonardo, in the heart of the City of Popes, the festival celebrates the short film as an autonomous art form capable of telling powerful stories in just a few minutes. Organized by the Associazione Persistente APS under the artistic direction of Michelangelo Gregori and the technical direction of Emanuele Vai, VITERBOshort has quickly become a reference point for independent cinema in the Tuscia region.

Competitive sections

The festival stands out for the variety of its competitive sections, which reach twelve in the 2026 edition, covering virtually every aspect of the short format:

• Corto Libero: fiction and experimental works with no thematic constraints;
• Theatrical and Literary Shorts: works inspired by theater and literature;
• MINIDOC: documentary shorts;
• Territory - TusciaFotografia Award: stories of local heritage;
• Youth Shorts and School Shorts: works for audiences under 14 and school productions;
• Music Videos;
• SATIRARSI: satirical and humorous shorts, awarded in collaboration with the Feldman Observatory in Milan;
• PLURIART: video art, dance, and performance;
• Animation (NO AI) and Artificial Intelligence: two distinct sections for traditional animation and AI-generated works;
• Vertical: 9:16 format works designed for new digital languages.

A short but intense history

The first edition in December 2024 exceeded all expectations: 394 submissions from over 50 countries, with the awards ceremony hosted by actress Arianna Cigni. The second edition, held from November 14 to 16, 2025, consolidated the three-day format with 28 shorts selected across eight sections and a jury of 21 professionals, including directors, screenwriters, authors, and communication experts. The official selection was announced at the Rome Film Fest, confirming the festival's growing ties with the national film scene.

Artist awards and professional juries

Each section is judged by a jury of industry professionals, and the awards are original artworks created by local artists: unique pieces that link the festival to the territory and the artistic craftsmanship of Tuscia. All selected works also receive the Official Selection laurel.

Viterbo, a city of cinema

The festival is also an opportunity to discover Viterbo, with its medieval San Pellegrino district, the Palace of the Popes, and the thermal baths. The Municipality of Viterbo supports the event, which helps position the city and the Lazio Region among the emerging destinations for Italian independent cinema. The third edition is scheduled from October 16 to 18, 2026, once again at the Teatro San Leonardo.