The Embassy of Italy in Lebanon and the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut, in partnership with Metropolis Art Cinema, present the second edition of the Italian Film Festival in Lebanon. The festival will take place in Beirut from 21 to 30 January 2026 at Metropolis Cinema in Mar Mikhael, with daily screenings at 8:00 pm.
Following the strong success of its inaugural edition, the festival returns with a selection of ten contemporary Italian films that have been screened and awarded at major international film festivals. The programme offers Lebanese audiences a journey through the diversity of languages, genres and sensibilities that define Italian cinema today. The 2026 edition will open on Wednesday, 21 January, with Primavera by Damiano Michieletto and will conclude on 30 January.
This year’s programme brings together works by established filmmakers alongside emerging voices, many of which premiered at leading international festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno and Toronto. This selection reflects the festival’s commitment to cinema that engages with the present and maintains a strong presence within major international circuits. The films span a wide range of forms and approaches, from historical works to documentaries, from coming of age stories to genre cinema, offering a rich and multifaceted portrait of contemporary Italian production.
The festival is designed for a broad and diverse audience, including general viewers, students, film professionals and cultural practitioners. It positions itself not only as a space for film screenings, but also as a platform for reflection on cinema as both an artistic and an industrial practice.
In a regional context where Italian films are most often presented within general programmes or non specialised festivals, the Italian Film Festival in Lebanon stands as the only autonomous festival in the MENA region fully dedicated to Italian cinema. Conceived as an annual event, it serves as a structured platform for dialogue between films, filmmakers and audiences.
This second edition also marks the launch of a broader Italian film programme that will continue throughout 2026. The initiative will be complemented by additional cultural and educational activities, including curated thematic retrospectives dedicated to key figures and themes in Italian cultural and cinematic history. The next retrospective will focus on Saint Francis, marking the eight hundredth anniversary of his death.
In parallel, the programme will include open call workshops aimed at local participants, designed as spaces for professional exchange and skills development. The first workshop will focus on screenwriting and will be led by two established Italian filmmakers. Future workshops will address other areas of film creation, including sound, music and foley art, costume and art design, animation, cinematography, image post production such as visual effects and colour grading, as well as acting and casting.
Through the festival and its accompanying initiatives, the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon and the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut seek to establish a lasting Italian cinematic presence in Lebanon, grounded in the quality of the films presented, critical engagement and sustained dialogue with the local cultural landscape.
