The 13th Cinema Italia film festival will take place at Tel Aviv Cinematheque from May 18 to 27, 2026. It will feature preview screenings of seven new Italian films from the past year, alongside a special tribute to Michelangelo Antonioni, one of the central figures in modern cinema history.
The festival is artistically directed by Ronny Fellus and produced by Adamas, Italy-Israel, in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institutes in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The contemporary program will open with “The Grace,” Paolo Sorrentino’s new film starring Toni Servillo. It follows a fictional president of the Italian Republic nearing the end of his term who must consider two pardon requests that confront him with complex moral dilemmas. The film screened in the official competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Servillo won the award for Best Actor.
Other films in the program include “Primavera” by Damiano Michieletto, set in 18th-century Venice and centered on a musical encounter with Antonio Vivaldi; “A Lesson in Love” by Massimiliano Bruno, winner of the Audience Award at the 2025 Rome Film Festival; and “My Maestro” by Andrea Di Stefano, a comedy-drama about a 13-year-old boy, an unconventional tennis coach and a coming-of-age journey along the Italian coast.
The festival’s classic section will be devoted to Antonioni, featuring one-time screenings of several of his major films: “L’Avventura,” “L’Eclisse,” “Red Desert,” “Blow-Up” and “The Passenger.” The films reflect the themes most associated with his work, including alienation, loneliness, identity crisis and the search for meaning in the modern world.
The festival will also screen “At the Wolf’s Table,” based on Rosella Postorino’s novel about women who served as Hitler’s food tasters; “Outside,” a drama inspired by the life of Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza; and “The Holy Boy,” Paolo Strippoli’s film that had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The entire festival will take place at Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Full details and the screening schedule are available on the cinematheque website.
