Roma Fiction Festival rebrands as Italian Global Series Festival, set to take place in June

The inaugural Italian Global Series Festival (IGSF), an international TV series festival organized by APA Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi, in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Culture and SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) and curated by film and television critic Marco Spagnoli, was announced last March 13th. The IGSF is an updated incarnation of the popular Roma Fiction Festival, which ran annually for ten years from 2007-2016. The first edition of IGSF will take place from June 21st to 28th 2025, in both Riccione (at the PalaRiccione and Multiplex CinePalace) and in Rimini (at the Cinema Fulgor, Teatro Galli and Corte degliAgostiniani).

The main objective of the festival, which has been bestowed the status of High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, is to promote and celebrate the production of Italian and International series, their artistic quality and capacity to entertain.

Over eight days this June, Riccione and Rimini will become the centre of Italian and international television excellence. With an extensive program curated by a committee of industry experts, the festival will not only be a prestigious showcase of today’s best series content, but also a laboratory for ideas around the future of the sector.

“I am grateful to the Ministry of Culture (MiC) and the Audiovisual Producers Association (APA) for the honor of being able to return to work, this time in person, on the 'reincarnation' of the Roma Fiction Fest”, commented the Artistic Director of IGSF, Marco Spagnoli. “This festival represented a unique event in the history of Italian audiovisual and today returns with a dual mission: on the one hand, to promote Italian production in a very diversified international context; on the other hand, to recognize the talents and excellences of our country, with particular attention to the protection of the current Star System and the commitment to building the future one. IGSF aims to soon become a point of reference and a meeting place for the national and international industry, in the name of the stories, talent and audiovisual productions that have always represented Italian excellence”.

SERIES IN COMPETITION
Italian and International series will be screened across four competitive sections at IGSF: Drama, Comedy, Limited Series and TV Movies. These titles will all be eligible for the following prizes – the “Maximo Awards” - Best Series, Best Leading Actor and Actress, Best Creator and/or Director, voted for via a jury of industry professionals.

The “Italian Fiction” award will be bestowed to a title of Italian origin distributed in Italy between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025. The National Union of Film Journalists will also award a Special Nastro D’argento to a major international co-production present at the festival.

In addition to a series of keynotes and master classes with Italian and international talent, “first-looks” of new series in production will be presented by attending cast and creatives. President of the David di Donatello Awards Piera Detassis and the President of the National Union of Film Journalists Laura Delli Colli will also moderate unique conversations with attending talent.

IGSF will also launch a program that mentors and guides a selection of up-and-coming actresses and actors, through a series of Italian and international events at the festival. Among the notable guests announced as jurors for the 2025 edition, are Palme d’Or winning and Emmy nominated director Bille August ("The Count of Monte Cristo"), director and screenwriter Cristina Comencini ("Don’t Tell") and multi award-winning director/writer Paolo Genovese ("Perfect Strangers").

The first recipients of the festival’s “Excellence Awards”, which will be presented during Opening Night at the Teatro Galli in Rimini and Closing Night at the Arena del Sole in Riccione, have also been announced today: Elena Sofia Ricci (“Godmother”); the actor and director Carlo Verdone; the music producer and pioneer of electronic music Giorgio Moroder; and the actress Evangeline Lilly, (Lost).