RAIN, EMOTION AND THE MAGIC OF CINEMA

Heart Of Hollywood Team
6 hours ago
3 min read

The Rome Film Fest 2025 Reaches a Milestone

By Chiara Basile Fasolo

For fifteen years now, I’ve been moving through the world of cinema with the same enthusiasm as when I first began, watching how this universe transforms and renews itself year after year, and how it brings new aesthetics, technologies, and sensibilities to the screen.

In the beginning, it was all about the magic of projection— the dark room, the beam of light, the film being born before the audience’s eyes. Today, it’s also about streaming, virtual reality, and hybrid storytelling.

There is passion for the seventh art and curiosity about everything that dares to change, evolve, and challenge the familiar.

So, when I walked once again through the gates and entered the Rome Film Fest 2025, a flood of memories came rushing back: the countless red carpets, the flashes from photographers, my heartbeat, the fans calling my name, my childhood dream that keeps coming true every single time.

This year’s event wasn’t just another festival; it marked its twentieth edition, a milestone of maturity, a declaration of love for the cinema that has existed and the one that is yet to come.

Cloudy skies and sudden downpours tried to steal the spotlight, but not even the pouring rain could dampen the energy: the red carpet became a river of colorful umbrellas, dazzling gowns defying the weather, and eyes that sparkled with joy. Seeing colleagues smile under the rain, waving to a shivering yet delighted audience, reminded me of what cinema truly is: a poetic form of resistance.

The twentieth edition of the Rome Film Fest took place from October 15th to 26th, 2025, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. The atmosphere was charged with excitement; the program encompassed over 150 films from 38 countries.

The opening film was La vita va così from Riccardo Milani, an Italian comedy set in Sardinia starring Virginia Raffaele and Diego Abatantuono. It was clear from the start that this festival was aiming to celebrate both national storytelling and strong international voices.

The festival was also a space for powerful stories addressing contemporary issues, such as the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East, with works such as Mstyslav Chernov’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka, a striking reflection on life at the frontlines of war.

Among the most anticipated titles were L’Accident de Piano from Quentin Dupieux, starring Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Jan Komasa’s Good Boy, featuring Anson Boon, both exploring human vulnerability and absurdity in unique ways.

One of the festival’s most meaningful moments was the “Progressive Cinema Visions for the World of Tomorrow” competition, focused on films that aim not only to tell stories, but to imagine futures. The standout winner, Left-Handed Girl (My Family in Taipei), by Shih-Ching Tsou, took home the Best Film Award for its delicate yet profound portrayal of family and identity.

The festival also paid tribute to three great masters of world cinema, Richard Linklater, Jafar Panahi, and David Puttnam, honoring their extraordinary contributions to film history.

But what struck me most this year was the spirit of solidarity that infused the event. Around 200 actors, actresses, and film professionals marched together on the red carpet to protest against the government’s proposed cuts to the Italian Cinema and Audiovisual Fund, declaring that cinema is vital to the country’s culture and economy.

The message was clear and powerful: “Those who cut culture cut the future.”

The true protagonists of that moment weren’t just the stars, but the many invisible faces behind the camera: makeup artists, camera operators, sound engineers, and all those who make the magic happen. They represent the heart of an industry of around 124,000 workers, a vibrant yet fragile community that keeps Italian cinema alive.

The cinema I love must live on.

It lives in films that speak of pain and courage, in directors who dare, in audiences who persist. It lives in the editors who stay up all night perfecting a scene, and in the young dreamers who stand in line to watch their first art film.

And now, I’m the creator and director of Double Code. Post-production has just been completed and it’s ready to be distributed to film festivals around the world. I hope to reach both the heart and the mind of audiences. The film tells the story of Emma, a young lawyer, a determined woman living the modern world, whose life joins Eden, a robot with artificial intelligence.