Javier Bardem and Tessa Ross at the Rome Film Fest

The Rome Film Fest takes place from 13 to 25 October 2026 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, with Monica Vitti chosen as the face of the official image for the new edition, according to Artribune, Quotidiano.net and RomaToday. The news currently comes from a single source (Fondazione Cinema per Roma); no independent confirmation is available.

Among this year’s awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Javier Bardem: it will be presented by Paolo Sorrentino, and the actor will also be in Rome to accompany the film by Rodrigo Sorogoyen included in the Best of 2026 section. A second lifetime achievement award, the Industry Lifetime Achievement Award, goes instead to British producer Tessa Ross, who will receive it from director Edward Berger during the opening night on 13 October.

The Progressive Cinema Competition will feature 18 titles, six of which are directed by women filmmakers, a proportion that Fondazione Cinema per Roma presents as part of the official selection for the 2026 edition. The programme also includes the debut of a new award, the Gillo Pontecorvo prize, launched this year and to be given to the film directed by Emmanuel Marre.

The structure of this edition thus combines lifetime achievement awards for established international figures — Bardem, Ross — with a competition aimed at highlighting new filmmakers and women directors, within the framework that has for years characterised the Rome event as a meeting point between auteur cinema and international productions. The full programme, with screenings and talks spread across the two weeks of October, remains available on the official channels of Fondazione Cinema per Roma.