Who would have thought that back in 2001, when Controluce arrived in South Africa to present the first Italian Film Focus (IFF) at the Sithengi Film Festival in Cape Town, that this remarkable cultural, human, and professional journey would continue for 25 years?
The Italian Film Focus marks this milestone from 27 November to 1 December, 2025, at various venues.
Entry is free to all films.
Italian Film Focus programme
This year’s IFF programme features films from Cannes, Venice, and Rome, including La Grazia by Paolo Sorrentino and Le Città di Pianura with Filippo Scotti.
Screenings will extend beyond Cape Town to RLabs House in Mitchell’s Plain and the Franschhoek Theatre, alongside masterclasses at AFDA and UCT, and an industry workshop on co-production opportunities with Encounters. The festival continues to strengthen creative ties between Italy and South Africa – proving that while cinema may not change the world, it can change how we see it.
Masterclasses, workshops
Over the years, IFF has become a cornerstone of cultural exchange between Italy and South Africa, bringing hundreds of Italian films and guests to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban, and offering masterclasses, workshops, and production meetings.
These exchanges have fostered education and collaboration in audiovisual storytelling, culminating in the historic Italy–South Africa co-production agreement of 2006, the first with a European country, which has already produced six feature films and several documentaries.
Education, professional exchange
Each year, the Italian delegation takes part in masterclasses at AFDA Film School and UCT, and engages South African filmmakers and producers in meetings on co-productions and industry partnerships. Controluce also collaborates with the Encounters Festival and local institutions to develop new exchange programs for 2026.
These initiatives follow two key conferences on Italy–Africa training programs: one at the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori, attended by South African faculty, filmmakers, and the South African Ambassador to Italy; and another at the Rome Film Festival in the Roma Lazio Film Commission space, attended by academics and institutional leaders.
Two South African film students were able to join the UNIMED jury at the Venice Film Festival thanks to the support of Controluce, Confartigianato Cinema e Audiovisivi, the Western Cape institutions, and the Embassy of South Africa in Italy.
Building on this success, they are working together to increase the number of South African students participating in festival juries and related programs in Italy.
Beyond the traditional festival circuit
Thanks to the support of local partners, this year’s Italian Film Focus festival brings a film to RLabs House in Mitchell’s Plain and Franschhoek Theatre: the lively comedy U.S. PALMESE, where football becomes a lens for exploring cultural diversity and community connection.
IFF 25 features films from the recent Cannes, Venice, and Rome festivals, showcasing the vitality of contemporary Italian cinema. Highlights include LA GRAZIA by Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino, one of IFF’s first guests in 2004, who later returned to South Africa to film part of THE YOUNG PEOPLE.
Also featured is LE CITTÀ DI PIANURA, Francesco Sossai’s tender debut set in the Veneto countryside, presented by co-star Filippo Scotti, one of Italy’s most sought-after young actors and star of Sorrentino’s THE HAND OF GOD.
Screenwriter Mimmo Rafele, a veteran of Italian cinema and television, will present THE COUNCIL CHAMBER by Fiorella Infascelli, a “Kammerspiel” weaving together the personal and judicial dramas of a mafia trial jury. From Cannes comes HEADS OR TAILS by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, an original Italian western blending history, genre, and geography.
Among the guests is Corrado Azzolini, president of the independent producers’ association Confartigianato, presenting THE OLIVE TREE AND THE BAOBAB, co-written with director Serena Porta, exploring shared stories and challenges between Italy and Africa.
IFF will also present the Italian box-office hit MADLY, a refined psychological game of mirrors by Paolo Genovese, acclaimed director of PERFECT STRANGERS.
IFF continues to unite Italian cinema promotion with education, co-production, and cultural outreach, strengthening the creative bridge between Italy and South Africa. Cinema may not change the world—but it can certainly change how we see it.
The delegation of filmmakers
Antonio Falduto, director of the event
Alberto Iannuzzi, responsible for the development of educational programs
Corrado Azzollini, scriptwriter and producer of The OLIVE TREE AND THE BAOBAB
Domenico Rafele, scriptwriter of THE COUNCIL CHAMBER
Fillippo Scotti, protagonist of THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD, Winner of Best Emerging Actor Award at the 2022 Venice Film Festival
Marta Zani, Professor of Art Direction at DAMS, University of Padua
When: 27 November – 1 December, 2025
Where: Cinema Labia, 68 Orange Street, Gardens
UCT, Bertha House (UCT), 67-69 Main Road, Mowbray
RLabs House at 38 Silverhurst Street, Westridge, Mitchells Plain
Franschhoek Theatre, 15 Akademie Street, Franschhoek
The Bioscope Independent Cinema, 44 Stanley Ave, Milpark, Johannesburg
Admission: Free entry to all films. First come – first served. Ffilms presented by the filmmakers are booked on Eventbrite, for all other films tickets are available one hour before the event.
Web: facebook.com/italianfilmfocus, @italianfilmfocus, associazionecontroluce.org
FilmItalia: See here
WS
