MEDFILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK — 1st EDITION // THE CINEMA OF THE MEDITERRANEAN IN NEW YORK
16–18 APRIL 2026 // Italian Cultural Institute of New York
The MedFilm Festival arrives in New York for the first time, opening a space for vision, dialogue, and encounter dedicated to the cinema and cultures of the Mediterranean. Hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, the event inaugurates the first international spin-off of MedFilm, the Rome-based festival that for over thirty years has promoted contemporary Euro-Mediterranean cinema. After New York, the international journey of 2026 will continue with stops in Tunisia and Morocco.
Directed by Ginella Vocca and organized in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in New York, the event presents a selection of nine films, including feature films and short films, chosen from among the most significant titles of the festival’s recent editions. A programme conceived as a MedFilm “best of,” capable of offering a plural and contemporary perspective on the Mediterranean, its stories, and its cultural richness. The selection is curated by Alessandro Zoppo, while executive production is entrusted to Atomic Production.
Over the course of three days, the festival offers a programme that reflects the variety of Mediterranean cinema, weaving together fiction, documentary, and short film, while encouraging encounters between filmmakers, audiences, and industry professionals.
Opening the programme is Burning Days by Emin Alper, the political thriller that won the Special Jury Prize at MedFilm 2022. The film follows a young magistrate caught in a network of power, corruption, and violence in a provincial town, building a tense and symbolic narrative that reflects on justice, responsibility, and compromise.
Among the featured titles is My Father’s Diaries by Ado Hasanović, winner of the Best Euro-Mediterranean Co-Production Award at MedFilm 2024. The film retraces the director’s personal story through archival footage filmed day by day by his father during the years of the Srebrenica genocide. A work that is at once deeply intimate and historical, reflecting on memory, loss, and testimony, accompanied by the presence of the director and followed by a conversation with the audience.
Completing the feature film programme is The Last Queen (La dernière reine) by Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri, a major Algerian production set in 16th-century Algeria. Through the figure of Queen Zaphira, the film explores themes such as resistance, identity, and power, intertwining history and legend in an ambitious and visually rich cinematic work.
Alongside the feature films, the festival presents a selection of six short films by directors from across the Mediterranean. Italy is represented by works such as Restare by Fabio Bobbio, Le prime volte by Giulia Cosentino and Perla Sardella, and Case cadute by Gianluca Abbate.
The international selection, meanwhile, offers titles that reflect the plurality of languages, sensibilities, and perspectives that shape Mediterranean cinema today, including The Voice of Others by Fatima Kaci, Warsha by Dania Bdeir, and On the Edge (Bord à bord) by Sahar El Echi.
The visual identity of the event is designed by Gianluca Abbate.
MedFilm Festival in New York is organized by the Methexis Association in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in New York.
Partners: Atomic Production, M Social Hotel New York Times Square.
Press Office: Reggi&Spizzichino.
