2025, a year full of events, draws to a close.

The International Tour Film Festival (ITFF) has archived 2025 as a year of successes and international expansion, with its 14th edition recording 423 submissions from 35 countries and selecting 100 works for the main competition in Civitavecchia from October 1 to 5. The festival renewed itself by introducing new categories such as Vertical Movie, Artificial Intelligence, and Fanitude (cosplay world), confirming its pioneering role in Italian, international, and sustainable tourism cinema under the patronage of MIC, Regione Lazio, Fondazione CaRiCiv, Comune di Civitavecchia, and partners like Enel and Sambuca Molinari.

• Institutional Launch in Rome

The year kicked off on January 18 with participation in the 3rd edition of the Antenna d’Oro TV Award in the Protomoteca Hall at the Campidoglio, celebrating television and cinema excellences with the plaque awarded to actor Alex Partexano. This milestone laid the groundwork for a packed agenda, strengthening ties with Roman institutions.

• International Presentations

On May 19, at the Italian Pavilion in the Hotel Majestic during the 78th Festival de Cannes, the ITFF unveiled previews of its program and presented the prestigious ITFF Cannes Awards to Iris Peynado and Steve Della Casa while announcing its exceptional juries. In late August, at the Lido di Venezia during the 82nd Venice Film Festival, it awarded the ITFF Venice Awards, including to Yvonne Sciò for the docufilm Womeness and producer Arturo Paglia of PACO Cinematografica. In mid-October, it shone at the Zagreb Tourfilm Festival with an invitation to the stage during the gala evening and plans for collaborations with some Croatian tourism entities.

• Diplomatic Events and Collateral Awards

Official meetings marked collaborations: in November, awards to Lebanese talents at the Lebanese Embassy with Ambassador Carla Jazzar to honor students from the Sarba Cultural House, and meetings with the Norwegian embassy on Nordic documentaries. On October 23, during the 20th Rome Film Fest, it debuted with the ITFF Roma Cinema Awards at the Roma Lazio Film Commission Space, honoring 7 key cinematic figures including Vincent Riotta, Pappi Corsicato, and Andrea Roncato, all personalities in competition at the Rome Film Fest.

The ITFF was finally officially awarded at the ANICA hall in Rome during the ISFF-Corti di Mare.

• Civitavecchia Program and Winners

Screenings spread across Cinema Royal, Buonarroti, Teatro Verdi and Granari Off, Cittadella della Musica, and Hotel de La Ville, featuring national and European premieres such as Balboa and Silent Rebellion (straight from the Venice Film Festival). Notable was the double triumph of The Butterfly Dream, a Taiwanese production. Main awards: John Vardar vs the Galaxy for Best Film, The Spiritualization of Jeff Boyd for Jury Prize, Transformation for Best AI Short. Career Award to director Cinzia Th. Torrini and Special Award to Cinetour President Can Saraçoglu. Collateral events like the MAFALDA MOLINARI AWARD presented to actress Ida Di Benedetto and the ITALIAN EXCELLENCE enriched the program.

Also noteworthy was the literary section curated by Marina Marucci, featuring excellent presentations tied to the cinema world, with works on Lando Buzzanca, Gloria Guida, and Lino Banfi.

• Impact and Future Prospects

As the founding festival of CINETOUR, the ITFF has thus consolidated its global network from the Balkans to Scandinavia, exceeding expectations with diplomatic and media visibility. Submissions for the 15th edition (October 7-11, 2026) are open and already include entries from Italy, Greece, USA, Romania, France, China, and Brazil, promising further innovations and collaborations.