The Baarìa Film Festival (BFF), the first Italian feature film festival entirely dedicated to “island cinema,” will take place from July 2 to 6, 2025, in Bagheria, Sicily. Known as the hometown of renowned figures such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Renato Guttuso, Ferdinando Scianna, and Ignazio Buttitta, this festival aims to promote the cinematic narrative of island life on a national and international scale, with a particular focus on Sicily.

The festival seeks to elevate Sicily’s artistic and landscape heritage, foster intercultural dialogue, and inspire reflection on ecological themes. Mayor Filippo Maria Tripoli, Deputy Mayor Daniele Vella, and the festival’s creator and general manager, Andrea di Quarto, along with artistic director Alberto Anile, outlined the guidelines for the inaugural edition during a press conference. The festival will offer the public a chance to view films that explore island life, either shot on an island or set on one, including Sicily.

Thematic Focus and Programming

The festival’s subtitle, “Sicily and Other Islands,” reflects its competitive section featuring feature films from islands worldwide. These films will be interspersed with works specifically about Sicily, including silent films from the early 20th century and short films by directors under 30. The jury, composed of cinema personalities and high school students, will award prizes in various categories.

The festival will include afternoon screenings in a dedicated room and outdoor evenings at the spectacular Villa Cattolica, the permanent seat of the Guttuso Museum. Additional events will include conferences, book presentations, and public meetings, all designed to enrich the festival experience.

Daily Programming and Special Events

The mornings will be dedicated to live events, including meetings with filmmakers and a roundtable discussion on “Making Cinema in Sicily.” The “Atolls” section will showcase the best documentary essays from students of the Experimental Center of Cinematography of Palermo and other island-themed fiction films, projected at Cinema Excelsior in the early afternoon.

The “Archipelagos” section, the largest and most international part of the festival, will feature ten fiction films from around the world. These films will tell “insular” stories, with a jury awarding prizes for the best film and best actor or actress. The “Archipelagos” films will be screened at Cinema Excelsior, two per day, following the “Atolls” screenings.

Evenings at Villa Cattolica will include five special events. One evening will be dedicated to Giuseppe Tornatore, another will honor a filmmaker as “Sicilian ad honorem,” and the final evening will showcase the best film from the “Archipelagos” section, along with awards for the best actor or actress and a prize from high school students.

Historical and Cultural Significance

Andrea di Quarto, the founder and director of the Baarìa Film Festival, cited Leonardo Sciascia, who said, “Cinema is interested in Sicily because Sicily is cinema.” Di Quarto emphasized that Sicily, after Lazio with Rome, is the Italian region where the most films have been shot. Palermo, and particularly Bagheria, has been a prolific filming location. Di Quarto’s personal connection to Bagheria and his love for cinema inspired him to create the festival as a way to return to his roots through his passion for film.

“The island, after Lazio with Rome, in which Cinecittà is located, is the Italian region in which multiple films have been shot. Palermo (and its province) was, and it is still today, the most prolific Sicilian city-set, and many of these films were shot in Bagheria, the place where I grew up and discovered the beauty of the great cinema and where I learned to look at the world with different eyes, among the images of all those directors who have been able to tell the reality and its complexity, that a boy a little bigger than me, ‘Peppuccio’ Tornatore, Ci He showed into a Cinemino who had transformed into the ‘L’Acuna Cultural Circle.’ For me, the Baarìa Film Festival is a way to return to my roots through something I love, cinema. I hope this first edition is only the beginning of a long journey.”

— Andrea di Quarto

Artistic director Alberto Anile described the festival as “an opportunity to ‘isolate yourself’ in a paradise of good cinema.” He added, “To rediscover the region and sail towards the other ‘Sicilies’ scattered throughout the globe. It seemed interesting to us to combine a speech on the island with the capital i, to the cinemas that make films within similar territories. It is said that in Sicily everything is exasperated, more passionate. True, but it’s a bit true for all islands. The places surrounded by water, isolated from the continent, have elements that are enhanced, underlined. They become more vital only by being closed within a territory. Through this red thread we will try to tell the island condition. Of Sicily and other islands.”

“It will be an opportunity to ‘isolate yourself’ in a paradise of good cinema,” Anticipated the Director artistic Alberto Anile, “To rediscover the region and sail towards the other ‘Sicilies’ scattered throughout the globe. It seemed interesting to us to combine a speech on the island with the capital i, to the cinemas that make films within similar territories. It is said that in Sicily everything is exasperated, more passionate. True, but it’s a bit true for all islands. The places surrounded by water, isolated from the continent, have elements that are enhanced, underlined. They become more vital only by being closed within a territory. Through this red thread we will try to tell the island condition. Of Sicily and other islands.”

— Alberto Anile

Support and Impact

Mayor Filippo Maria Tripoli emphasized that the festival is more than just a film event; it is a cultural project aimed at enhancing the territory’s rich history, art, and traditions. He stated, “The Baarìa Film Festival, which we have the pleasure of sponsoring, is not only a film event, but a real cultural project that aims to enhance our territory, full of history, art and traditions. The city of Bagheria, which gave birth to illustrious figures such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Renato Guttuso, Ferdinando Scianna and Ignazio Buttitta, is confirmed as a place of cultural ferment and promotion of talent.”

The mayor of Bagheria Filippo Maria Tripoli added: “The Baarìa Film Festival, which we have the pleasure of sponsoring, is not only a film event, but a real cultural project that aims to enhance our territory, full of history, art and traditions. The city of Bagheria, which gave birth to illustrious figures such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Renato Guttuso, Ferdinando Scianna and Ignazio Buttitta, is confirmed as a place of cultural ferment and promotion of talent.”

— Filippo Maria Tripoli

Deputy Mayor Daniele Vella expressed enthusiasm for the festival, stating, “The birth of a film festival in our city is an event to greet with enthusiasm. Thinking of developing the Baarìa Film Festival also means that the cultural and administrative work of these years has created positive and fruitful conditions in the city, and we are happy with this. The administration will always be in support of cultural initiatives from proposal and animated private individuals.”

“The birth of a film festival in our city is an event to greet with enthusiasm. Thinking of developing the Baarìa Film Festival also means that the cultural and administrative work of these years has created positive and fruitful conditions in the city, and we are happy with this. The administration will always be in support of cultural initiatives from proposal and animated private individuals.”

— Daniele Vella

Registration and Support

Registrations for the first edition of the Baarìa Film Festival are open until April 30, 2025. The festival is produced by the Bagherian Cultural Association Kinema, with the patronage of the Municipality of Bagheria, the Sicilian Region Department of Sport and Tourism, the Sicily Film Commission, the Guttuso Museum, and support from the Experimental Center of Cinematography headquarters in Palermo, the Conservatory of Music Alessandro Scarlatti, the National Cinema Museum of Turin, the Cineteca di Bologna, the Cineteca di Milano, and the Friuli Cineteca.