20th Rome Film Festival

The festival celebrated birth centenary of Franco Pinna, Italian photographer of the second half of the 20th century. The official poster of the festival is a shot taken by him on the set of Federico Fellini's 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film, Juliet of the Spirits. David Puttnam, British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords, was honoured with Industry Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony. He received the award from Britain-based Italian director and screenwriter Uberto Pasolini. Jafar Panahi, Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor and Richard Linklater, American filmmaker were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by Italian film director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore and Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor Marco Bellocchio respectively. On 16 October the New York filmmaker Nia DaCosta was presented with the Progressive Lifetime Achievement Award by the festival's Artistic Director Paola Malanga. On 19 September 2025, the festival unveiled its line-up. The festival showcased 19i titles from 38 countries. ==Jury==

The jury for the competitive sections was announced on 29 July 2025. The jury will decide Best Film, Grand Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Screenplay, the "Monica Vitti" Award for Best Actress, the "Vittorio Gassman" Award for Best Actor and the Special Jury Prize in Progressive Cinema Competition. Progressive Cinema Competition Award , Jury President • Paola Cortellesi, an Italian actress, comedian, film director, screenwriter and producer (Jury President) • Teemu Nikki, a Finnish director and screenwriter • William Oldroyd, a British director and screenwriter • Brian Selznick, an American writer and illustrator • Nadia Tereszkiewicz, a French-Finnish actress Progressive Cinema, Freestyle and Grand Public Competition sections , Jury President • Santiago Mitre, Argentine film director and screenwriter (Jury President) • Patrick Dickinson, Anglo-Irish director and screenwriter • Barbara Ronchi, Italian actress ==Events==

===Celebration of Franco Pinna=== , Italian photographer Festa del Cinema will honor the 100th birth anniversary of Italian photographer Franco Pinna with three parallel exhibitions titled "Franco Pinna Photographer. Tribute to a Century." Curated by Paolo Pisanelli and organized by Archivio Franco Pinna and OfficinaVisioni, the exhibitions will be showcased in key festival venues, in collaboration with Cinema del reale, Erratacorrige, and Big Sur. ==Official sections==

The twentieth edition will have following sections: • Progressive Cinema Competition • Freestyle • Grand public • Special screenings • Best of 2025 • History of cinema • Special events Opening film La vita va così starring Virginia Raffaele, Diego Abatantuono, and Aldo Baglio, a "humorous twenty-year story set in a wonderful corner of Sardinia" was selected as the opening film of the festival. Progressive Cinema Competition - Visions for the World of Tomorrow Freestyle Films Arts Series Grand public Special screenings Best of 2025 History of cinema Documentaries Special events A Tribute to Susan Seidelman Susan Seidelman is an American film director, producer, and writer. The Anniversaries A Tribute to Claudio Caligari Claudio Caligari was an Italian director and screenwriter. The production country of all the films is Italy. Restorations Tribute to David Puttnam – Industry Lifetime Achievement Award David Puttnam, British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. ==Awards==

The jury awarded the following prizes to the films presented in the festival: Progressive Cinema Competition - Visions for the World of Tomorrow • Best Film: Left-Handed Girl by Shih-Ching Tsou, Taiwan, France, United States, United Kingdom • Jury Grand Prix: Nino by Pauline Loquès • Best Director: Wang Tong for Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts • Best Screenplay: Alireza Khatami for The Things You Kill • Best Actress – Monica Vitti Award • Prize: Jasmine Trinca for [The Eyes Of Others • Best Actor – Vittorio Gassman Award • Prize: Anson Boon for Good Boy • Special Jury Prize: To the cast of film 40 secondi Poste Italiane Best First Feature Award • Keep Me in Mind by Alberto Palmiero Best Documentary Award • Cuba & Alaska by Yegor Troyanovsky Terna Audience Award • Roberto Rossellini, More Than a Life by Ilaria de Laurentiis , Andrea Paolo Massara and Raffaele Brunetti Industry Lifetime Achievement Award , recipient of Industry Lifetime Achievement Award • David Puttnam, British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award • Jafar Panahi, Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award • Richard Linklater, American filmmaker Progressive Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of Progressive Lifetime Achievement Award • Nia DaCosta, American filmmaker Master of Film Award recipient of Master of Film Award • Edgar Reitz, German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (State University of Design) in Karlsruhe Lazio Terra di Cinema Award • Can Yaman, Turkish actor (awarded by the Lazio Region) ==References==