The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, in collaboration with the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio, presents a streaming program of Dieci corti in giro per il mondo (Ten Shorts Around the World) 2026. This program is part of Fare Cinema, Italy’s annual global initiative by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, celebrating Italian cinema and its film industry.
Although short-film formats keep evolving with new viewing habits, cinema remains the most sophisticated visual language, the origin of all audiovisual developments. “Ten Shorts Around the World” captures Italian short cinema’s essence – personal microcosms that, through filmmakers’ dedication, become shared, collective critical reflection.
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Our selection for this year:
Joy Jelly
2025 – 20′ – Danilo Merafina
Rebecca, 27, obsessed with candy, Hello Kitty, and Hannah Montana, sets off in search of her parents’ house. Fifteen years after seeing them for the last time, she tries to go back to living with them, blurring the line between nostalgia and obsession.
Via Bellezza 11
2025 – 18′ – Giuseppe Cardaci
Anna, who has recently moved into a building where everyone ignores each other, decides to honor the dedication of the doorman, Franco, by teaching the neighbors the importance of his small kind gestures. Working together, they give Franco one last chance to win the award for “Best Doorman in Italy.”
I fantasia (The Ghosts)
2025 – 15′ – Federico Papagna
In the province of Lazio, two teenagers and their friends insistently search for Luca, a peer to whom they had given a small sum of money in advance without receiving the requested hashish. Filippo, one of the boys involved in the scam, must try to keep secret the violent plan devised by his friends for revenge.
Caffè nero bollente (Hot Black Coffee)
2025 – 18′ – Cinzia Pedrizzetti
In a world where cell phones and electronic devices dominate human relationships, there still exists a place untouched by technology — a space where love between a man and a woman can exist only in a romantic, immaterial form.
Vista mare (Sea View)
2025 – 4′ 44″ – Nicola Bartoleschi, Nicoletta Busto, Emanuele Ricciardi
A charming Italian village, nestled between sea and mountains, drowns every summer under hordes of tourists hungry for “authenticity.” Amid selfies, spaghetti dinners, yachts, fires, and postcard-perfect patriotism, the picturesque town turns into a grotesque Mediterranean amusement park. But something seems about to give way.
Milano infetta (Infected Milan)
2025 – 20′ – Tommaso Cohen
Milan, 1982. The story of the Virus squat intertwines with the transformation of a city that, leaving behind the Resistance and the workers’ struggles, is becoming a capital of business and glamour.
Fiji
2025 – 12′ – Andrea Lamedica
Four young flight attendants from the low-cost airline PanoramicAir find themselves in a hotel room the night before their flight. Two of them have never flown before, while the other two are already experienced. To ease their anxiety, they laugh and joke together, until a role-playing game breaks the group’s balance, revealing a deep truth.
Addio, ben trovati (Goodbye, Welcome Back)
2025 – 14′ – Alfredo Arvalli
Marcello returns to his hometown after years abroad, expecting to find everything as he left it. Soon, however, he finds himself reckoning with the passage of time, discovering that places and people have changed irrevocably, himself included.
Mambo Kids
2025 – 20′ – Emanuele Tresca
On a quiet late-summer day, Alessandro and Flavio go in search of their city’s last secrets. Today some paths lead them to unexplored places, and they wait for nightfall beneath a great cherry tree. A beer with friends in a deserted square, mopeds heading home like a flock of birds, and then nothing more.
Le prime volte (First Times)
2025 – 16′ – Giulia Cosentino and Perla Sardella
Emilia and Caterina write letters to each other, retracing memories of adolescence and their first experiences at a boarding school in the 1950s. Did they choose the lives they truly wanted, or only the ones they dared to imagine?
Shorts in Italian with English subtitles.
Featured films are unrated, and may contain mature content.
- YearPlease see each title
- Runtime164 minutes
- LanguageItalian
- CountryItaly
- DirectorPlease see each title
The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, in collaboration with the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio, presents a streaming program of Dieci corti in giro per il mondo (Ten Shorts Around the World) 2026. This program is part of Fare Cinema, Italy’s annual global initiative by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, celebrating Italian cinema and its film industry.
Although short-film formats keep evolving with new viewing habits, cinema remains the most sophisticated visual language, the origin of all audiovisual developments. “Ten Shorts Around the World” captures Italian short cinema’s essence – personal microcosms that, through filmmakers’ dedication, become shared, collective critical reflection.
-----------
Our selection for this year:
Joy Jelly
2025 – 20′ – Danilo Merafina
Rebecca, 27, obsessed with candy, Hello Kitty, and Hannah Montana, sets off in search of her parents’ house. Fifteen years after seeing them for the last time, she tries to go back to living with them, blurring the line between nostalgia and obsession.
Via Bellezza 11
2025 – 18′ – Giuseppe Cardaci
Anna, who has recently moved into a building where everyone ignores each other, decides to honor the dedication of the doorman, Franco, by teaching the neighbors the importance of his small kind gestures. Working together, they give Franco one last chance to win the award for “Best Doorman in Italy.”
I fantasia (The Ghosts)
2025 – 15′ – Federico Papagna
In the province of Lazio, two teenagers and their friends insistently search for Luca, a peer to whom they had given a small sum of money in advance without receiving the requested hashish. Filippo, one of the boys involved in the scam, must try to keep secret the violent plan devised by his friends for revenge.
Caffè nero bollente (Hot Black Coffee)
2025 – 18′ – Cinzia Pedrizzetti
In a world where cell phones and electronic devices dominate human relationships, there still exists a place untouched by technology — a space where love between a man and a woman can exist only in a romantic, immaterial form.
Vista mare (Sea View)
2025 – 4′ 44″ – Nicola Bartoleschi, Nicoletta Busto, Emanuele Ricciardi
A charming Italian village, nestled between sea and mountains, drowns every summer under hordes of tourists hungry for “authenticity.” Amid selfies, spaghetti dinners, yachts, fires, and postcard-perfect patriotism, the picturesque town turns into a grotesque Mediterranean amusement park. But something seems about to give way.
Milano infetta (Infected Milan)
2025 – 20′ – Tommaso Cohen
Milan, 1982. The story of the Virus squat intertwines with the transformation of a city that, leaving behind the Resistance and the workers’ struggles, is becoming a capital of business and glamour.
Fiji
2025 – 12′ – Andrea Lamedica
Four young flight attendants from the low-cost airline PanoramicAir find themselves in a hotel room the night before their flight. Two of them have never flown before, while the other two are already experienced. To ease their anxiety, they laugh and joke together, until a role-playing game breaks the group’s balance, revealing a deep truth.
Addio, ben trovati (Goodbye, Welcome Back)
2025 – 14′ – Alfredo Arvalli
Marcello returns to his hometown after years abroad, expecting to find everything as he left it. Soon, however, he finds himself reckoning with the passage of time, discovering that places and people have changed irrevocably, himself included.
Mambo Kids
2025 – 20′ – Emanuele Tresca
On a quiet late-summer day, Alessandro and Flavio go in search of their city’s last secrets. Today some paths lead them to unexplored places, and they wait for nightfall beneath a great cherry tree. A beer with friends in a deserted square, mopeds heading home like a flock of birds, and then nothing more.
Le prime volte (First Times)
2025 – 16′ – Giulia Cosentino and Perla Sardella
Emilia and Caterina write letters to each other, retracing memories of adolescence and their first experiences at a boarding school in the 1950s. Did they choose the lives they truly wanted, or only the ones they dared to imagine?
Shorts in Italian with English subtitles.
Featured films are unrated, and may contain mature content.
- YearPlease see each title
- Runtime164 minutes
- LanguageItalian
- CountryItaly
- DirectorPlease see each title
