by Josie Gagliano
The 2026 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival is the largest festival of Italian cinema in the world. Sydney opening night was held at Palace Norton Street in Leichhardt, and it was one for the ages, with 600 people packing the (newly renovated and super comfy!) cinema.
The event kicked off three weeks of an incredible selection of new Italian cinema, celebrating the country’s language stories and culture, with the festival including works from contemporary Italian auteurs, documentaries, comedies, a retrospective focus on iconic Italian actor Anna Magnani, two very special guests, and the premiere of a new Australian Italian co-production.
The festival is now screening nationally at Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova in Adelaide, Luna Cinemas in Perth and Cinema Nova in Melbourne.
“Australia’s favourite love affair with Italy is back for another exciting year with 33 films in the line up,” said Festival Director Elysia Zeccola [above]. “We’re thrilled to be welcoming two huge names in Italian cinema to our shores and can’t wait to share with them the passion our audiences have for this annual celebration of Italian culture.” ST. ALi – the Australian coffee company with Italian-heritage – is the Naming Rights Partner for the 7th year.
Opening the 2026 festival was the Palermo-set box office hit romantic comedy from Pierfrancesco ‘Pif’ Diliberto, Holy Cannoli (Che Dio Perdona a Tutti). Pif attended the Festival in Sydney and Melbourne.
Festival ambassador Silvia Colloca also attended Sydney opening night. The multi-talented Italian/Australian actor (loved her in Stan’s The F Ward), cookbook author, TV personality and opera trained mezzo-soprano has been Festival’s ambassador for eight years in a row.
Holy Cannoli is an infectious, original story of love, faith… and delicious pastries. It should come with a warning though: you will want to go to every Italian cake shop in Leichhardt, Five Dock, Wetherill Park and beyond after watching this. The desire for Sicilian cassata and sciù will run deep.
In this flick, we follow Arturo, a successful real estate agent (played by Pif) with a passion for desserts who falls for a gorgeous and talented (and devoutly Catholic) pastry chef, Flora. You won’t see the sweet twist in the tale coming; it’s definitely worth the watch.
The Festival’s second very special guest is acclaimed Italian actor Edoardo Leo who will be in Sydney on September 23, and in Melbourne on September 25, for the Australian premiere screenings of his films Separate Beds (2 Cuori e 2 Capanne) [below] and the drama For You (Per Te).
This year’s ‘Festival Centrepiece’ is the highly awarded Sweetheart (Gioia Mia). Claiming Best Actress and Best New Director at the 2026 David di Donatello Awards amongst other accolades, this enchanting drama follows a young boy, Nico, who is sent to spend a summer in Sicily with his elderly aunt, played by beloved Italian actor Aurora Quattrocchi. The house of his ‘Zia’ holds mysterious Sicilian household secrets and perhaps some lurking spirits within the walls.
Closing the Festival and direct from this year’s Venice International Film Festival is The Echo Chamber, directed by Andrea Pallaoro. Based on Bernardo Bertolucci’s final screenplay, this is a love story where the boundaries between presence and absence, care and dependence, and desire and control blur. It stars Alicia Vikander, Luca Marinelli and Susan Sarandon.
The 2026 Festival Special Presentation is the bittersweet Three Goodbyes (Tre Ciotole), based on the bestselling novel by Michela Murgia. When a couple (played by acclaimed actors Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano) split up after what seems like a trivial argument, their lives dramatically change in this emotional, ultimately life-affirming tale from award winning director Isabel Coixet.
And the Festival will present the world premiere of the Australian/Italian co-produced documentary Sand Roads in Sydney. The film follows three young Australian men as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a 50,000km quad bike journey across three continents to break a Guiness World Record while fundraising to combat global poverty. Sixteen years later, with intimate footage on the road, and a rediscovered diary, a heartfelt film about friendship and tragic loss is delivered.
Exclusive to Melbourne is a special free event, Italian Cinemas in Melbourne: Vintage Movie Poster Exhibition. It will feature a curated selection of Italian language cinema posters from the personal collections of Australian TV and film personality Santo Cilauro and the founder of Palace, Antonio Zeccola. The exhibition will be on display in the foyer of Palace Pentridge from 18 September to 15 October. Closing night will feature a screening of the Australian classic The Castle, followed by a Q&A with Santo Cilauro and Michael Hirsh from Working Dog to discuss the Italian identity of the film. Just brilliant!
The Italian Film Festival was founded in 2000 by Cavaliere Antonio Zeccola who, in one of Australia’s many migrant success stories, built Australia’s only national boutique cinema network, now encompassing 25 cinemas, and more than 180 screens, nationally.
The 2026 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Canberra 16 September – 15 October, Palace Electric Cinema
Adelaide 16 September – 13 October, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Sydney 17 September – 14 October, Palace Moore Park, Palace Norton St, Palace Central
Byron Bay and Ballina 17 September – 14 October, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
Melbourne 18 September – 15 October, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Church St, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, Cinema Nova
Ballarat 18 September – 15 October, Palace Regent Cinemas
Brisbane 24 September – 18 October, Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
Perth 24 September – 18 October, Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema
For information and updates, see italianfilmfestival.com.au
Festival photos by Julia Firak
