The ST. ALi Italian Film Festival returns this September with Paolo Genovese's romantic comedy Somebody To Love opening proceedings.
The 2025 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival will showcase the finest new Italian cinema across nine Australian cities from September to October. Presented by Palace, the festival represents the largest celebration of Italian culture and film outside Italy, offering audiences an unmissable selection of contemporary Italian filmmaking talent.
Paolo Genovese’s record-breaking romantic comedy Somebody To Love will open the ST. ALi Italian Film Festival, featuring an all-star cast including Edoardo Leo, Pilar Fogliati and Vittoria Puccini. The film follows a modern Italian couple navigating their awkward first date, revealing their innermost thoughts and uncertainties. Genovese previously achieved global success with Perfect Strangers, which screened at the festival in 2016.
ST. ALi Italian Film Festival
- Canberra: 17 September – 15 October, Palace Electric Cinema
- Adelaide: 17 September – 14 October, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
- Sydney: 18 September – 15 October, Palace Moore Park, Palace Norton St, Palace Central, Chauvel Cinema
- Melbourne: 19 September – 16 October, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, Cinema Nova
- Ballarat: 20 September – 16 October, Palace Regent Cinemas
- Brisbane: 24 September – 22 October, Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
- Byron Bay and Ballina: 25 September – 15 October, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
- Perth: 25 September – 22 October, Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Other festival highlights include Ferzan Özpetek’s female-led drama Diamonds, starring Luisa Ranieri and Jasmine Trinca as sisters running a couture costume design house in 1970s Rome. The Mountain Bride – Vermiglio, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, will serve as the festival’s Special Presentation. This atmospheric drama explores a family caught between tradition and modernity during the final year of World War II.
The programme also features The Boy With Pink Trousers, a moving drama exploring Italy’s first publicised case of online bullying, and The Illusion, a comedic reimagining of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860 campaign starring Ficarra & Picone and Toni Servillo.
The full programme will be announced in late August, with tickets going on sale simultaneously. The festival runs across nine cities, commencing on 17 September in Adelaide and Canberra.
For more information, head here.
