SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica), the short film program born from the synergy between Cinecittà and the International Critics’ Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica), celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2025. The initiative has become a key platform for discovering emerging talents. The program is the result of a collaboration between the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) and Cinecittà, created to foster the development of new Italian cinema and to promote young filmmakers.
After its premiere in Venice, the short films showcased in SIC@SIC will be promoted internationally by Cinecittà’s Department for the International Promotion of Contemporary Cinema. This includes participation in various festivals and initiatives, such as the Mostra de Cinema Italià de Barcelona (Short Film Competition section), which will be held in Spain in December 2025. Additionally, the films will be made available to industry professionals through online platforms such as Festival Scope Pro and the Videoteca del Cortometraggio Italiano, a promotional tool for Italian short films developed by the National Short Film Center | ShorTO Film Market in collaboration with Cinecittà.
As a special recognition, one short film selected from the SIC@SIC lineup by the National Short Film Center | ShorTO Film Market will be included in one of their annual programs distributed to diplomatic and cultural institutions (embassies, cultural institutes) starting in spring 2026.
The short film program is part of the 40th edition of the International Critics’ Week and is curated by Artistic Director Beatrice Fiorentino, together with the selection committee members: Matteo Berardini, Marianna Cappi, Francesco Grieco, and Marco Romagna. “It wasn’t easy to sift through nearly 300 short films to narrow them down to a selection of seven,” noted Beatrice Fiorentino. “What guided us, once again, was the joys of risk and freedom.”
The 10th edition features a competition lineup of seven short films by Italian directors who have not yet made a narrative feature film, along with two special out-of-competition events.
Among the competing titles: ARCA by Lorenzo Quagliozzi, a return to SIC@SIC, using a blend of archival footage and deepfake to launch us into the future with cinema history as the only carry-on luggage. El pütì pèrs by Paolo Baiguera, a reverse-Pinocchio tale, delving deep into the forest as a spiritual and ancestral realm that swallows and returns, echoing grief and absence, where the soul may live on forever. Festa in famiglia by Nadir Taji, a sharp and unsettling family portrait that fiercely examines social dynamics and the cracks within domestic relationships. Marina by Paoli De Luca, a love song of bodies, attractions, and summer sunshine, dancing bodies, swimming sirens, and hearts beating almost in unison. La moto by Matteo Giampetruzzi, a dangerous game of attraction, dominance, and submission, seductive and nocturnal, provocative like a Ferreri film and queer like Titane. The Pørnøgraphər by collective HARIEL, created with AI-generated imagery, literally dives into the body of the image itself to challenge its boundaries and explore its nature and social impact. Sante by Valeria Gaudieri, a refined exploration of the dichotomy between purity and desire, between body and spirituality.