The Catania Film Fest chooses autonomy: when freedom is not a compromise, but a declaration.

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Independent cinema isn't born to please. It doesn't seek consensus, it doesn't bow to the rhetoric of entertainment, it doesn't allow itself to be tamed by administrative logic. Independent cinema is born of freedom. And this year, the Catania Film Fest has chosen to honor it in its truest form.

The renunciation of co-organization with the Municipality of Catania is not a defeat , but an act of responsibility . Faced with the failure to meet its institutional commitments, the Festival has chosen not to betray the trust of its artists, partners, workers, and audiences. It has chosen not to trade its integrity for a shared structure that, although initiated with confidence, has not found concrete implementation.

At a time when culture risks becoming decorative, the Catania Film Fest reaffirms its vocation: to be a critical space, a meeting place, a laboratory of visions. The 2025 edition will be more essential, but no less comprehensive. It will be more authentic, because it will be free from compromise. It will be supported by those who believe in the Festival's value as a shared heritage: cultural workers, volunteers, citizens, and private sponsors. It will be an edition that doesn't ask for permission, but offers opportunities.

This choice isn't just organizational. It's political, in the highest sense of the word. It's a declaration of intent: the Catania Film Fest isn't defined by absences, but by the presences that matter. Those who build, who endure, who imagine.

The program details will be announced in the coming days. But the message is already clear: independent cinema isn't measured by budget, but by vision. And Catania, once again, will be its stage.

PRESS RELEASE

The Catania Film Fest renounces its co-organization with the Municipality and confirms a special edition in its own right.

Catania, October 21, 2025 – The Catania Film Fest , an event dedicated to European and Mediterranean independent cinema, officially announces its withdrawal from co-organization with the Municipality of Catania for its 14th edition, which will take place from November 13 to 15, 2025, at the ZO Centro Culture Contemporanee (Piazzale Rocco Chinnici 6, Catania). The new dates replace the previously scheduled November 10 date.

The decision was made by Founder and Artistic Director Cateno Piazza , together with the Festival's Organizing Committee, following the failure to meet the administrative and financial commitments envisaged by the joint organization signed at the beginning of the year. This was compounded by the revocation of the Sicilia Film Commission , for administrative reasons beyond the control of the Catania Film Festival Association . These circumstances would have prevented a clear operational process that respected the commitments made to artists, partners, and staff.

Out of a sense of responsibility towards the public and the city, the Festival has chosen to continue independently , abandoning a shared structure that – although launched with confidence – has not found concrete results.

With gratitude for the dialogue thus far with the institutions, the Catania Film Festival Association confirms a special edition , reduced in size but entirely independent, made possible thanks to the support of cultural operators, volunteers, citizens and private sponsors who believe in the value of the Festival as a shared heritage of the community.

Independent cinema is born of freedom. This year, Catania will celebrate it in its truest form.

The Catania Film Fest 2025 will not be a minor edition, but a fundamental one . Not less extensive, but more authentic.

Program details will be announced in the coming days. In the meantime, the Festival invites cultural organizations, businesses, and citizens to actively participate in this collective journey.

For information and registration: direzione@cataniafilmfest.it / www.cataniafilmfest.it

Follow Catania Film Fest: Instagram: @cataniafilmfest / Facebook: @cataniafilmfest