From Vivaldi’s Venice to feminist rebellion, Euro-western swagger and intimate family stories, the 16th edition of Cinema Made in Italy brings a vivid snapshot of today’s Italian filmmaking to London.

Italian cinema arrives in London again this week as Cinema Made in Italy opens its 16th edition at BFI Southbank, running 4–8 March 2026.

Across five days, the festival gathers ten recent Italian productions alongside a newly restored classic, offering a compact look at where the country’s filmmakers are heading now. Some arrive fresh from Cannes, Venice and Toronto. Others introduce newer directors beginning to make their mark. As always, many screenings will be followed by conversations with the filmmakers themselves.

The event is organised by Cinecittà and the British Film Institute, with support from the Italian Cultural Institute London. The programme was selected by Film London CEO Adrian Wootton.

Here is what to watch across the week.

Opening Night: PRIMAVERA

Wed 4 March – 18.40
Intro + Q&A: Damiano Michieletto and Ludovica Rampoldi

The festival opens with Primavera, the first feature from acclaimed opera director Damiano Michieletto.

Set in 18th-century Venice, the story follows Cecilia, a gifted violinist growing up inside the Ospedale della Pietà, where orphaned girls were trained as musicians. When Antonio Vivaldi arrives as the new violin teacher, her world begins to shift.

The London premiere lands on a pleasing coincidence — Vivaldi’s birthday.The screening is preceded by Bruno Bozzetto’s Oscar-nominated animated short Grasshoppers, a witty nine-minute satire on the repeating cycles of human history.

A YEAR OF SCHOOL (Un Anno di Scuola)

Thu 5 March – 18.00
Intro + Q&A: Laura Samani

A Swedish teenager arrives in Trieste and enrols in an all-male class. Within days, the delicate balance between three close friends begins to shift.

Director Laura Samani approaches adolescence with a cool observational eye. What emerges is less a teenage romance than a quiet study of loyalty, rivalry and the strange emotional politics of belonging.

HEADS OR TAILS? (Testa o Croce?)

Thu 5 March – 20.15
Intro + Q&A: Alessio Rigo de Righi

A mischievous throwback to the spaghetti-western tradition.

In Heads or Tails?, a rodeo contest between American cowboys and Italian butteri sparks romance, murder and a manhunt. The film plays with the genre’s legacy — Leone, Corbucci and all the swagger that came with them — but keeps a playful sense of humour.

A BRIEF AFFAIR (Breve Storia d’Amore)

Fri 6 March – 18.00
Intro + Q&A: Ludovica Rampoldi

Celebrated screenwriter Ludovica Rampoldi makes her directorial debut with A Brief Affair.

It begins simply: two strangers meet, an affair starts, and the rules are clear — secrecy, a hotel room, nothing more. But when one of them begins to cross those boundaries, the story tightens into a psychological drama about obsession and the quiet violence of intimacy.

THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD (Le Città di Pianura)

Fri 6 March – 20.30
Intro + Q&A: Francesco Sossai

A road trip through the Venetian plains, powered by bad decisions and unexpected friendship.

In The Last One for the Road, two middle-aged drifters and a lost architecture student stumble into a journey that slowly reshapes their sense of direction — in life as much as on the road.

The film is shot on analogue stock, giving its wandering rhythm a tactile warmth.

ELISA

Sat 7 March – 14.20
Intro + Q&A: Leonardo Di Costanzo and Valeria Golino

Elisa unfolds inside a prison where a woman convicted of murdering her sister agrees to participate in a criminological study.

As memories begin to return, the film gradually becomes something deeper — a confrontation with guilt, denial and the fragile possibility of redemption.

FUORI

Sat 7 March – 17.20
Intro + Q&A: Valeria Golino

Inspired by the life of radical Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza, Fuori moves between prison walls and the sweltering streets of Rome.

At its centre is Valeria Golino, whose performance captures Sapienza’s defiance, humour and fierce independence.

GIOIA (La Gioia)

Sat 7 March – 20.20
Intro + Q&A: Nicolangelo Gelormini and Valeria Golino

A dark, unsettling drama about desire and power.

In Gioia, a teacher trapped in an oppressive family life becomes involved with one of her students. What begins as a fragile connection slowly unravels into something far more dangerous.

THE FACTS OF MURDER (Un Maledetto Imbroglio)

Sun 8 March – 12.30
Intro: Adrian Wootton

A welcome return to classic Italian cinema.

The Facts of Murder, starring Claudia Cardinale, arrives in a beautiful digital restoration. Adapted from Carlo Emilio Gadda’s novel, the film follows a detective investigating two crimes inside the same Roman apartment building.

SWEETHEART (Gioia Mia)

Sun 8 March – 15.00
Intro + Q&A: Margherita Spampinato

A Milanese boy is sent to spend the summer in rural Sicily with his deeply traditional great-aunt.

At first the clash is total — modern life colliding with a house frozen in time. Gradually, though, something warmer emerges between them.

Closing Night: THREE GOODBYES (Tre Ciotole)

Sun 8 March – 17.50
Intro + Q&A: Isabel Coixet

The festival closes with Three Goodbyes, starring Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano.

Adapted from Michela Murgia’s novel, the film begins with a breakup but unfolds into a story about illness, appetite and the urgency of living fully.

Cinema Made in Italy 2026

4–8 March 2026
BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London SE1

Five days of new Italian cinema with filmmaker Q&As, including Primavera, Fuori, Gioia and Three Goodbyes, plus a restored screening of Pietro Germi’s classic The Facts of Murder.

Tickets: From £12.20
Book: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/article/cinema-made-in-italy-2026
Box office: 020 7928 3232