In Gallura the spotlights of the Figari Film Fest 2025 have not yet gone out and the organization is already thinking about the next edition: the first novelties of 2026 will be announced at the Venice Film Festival. The 15th edition of the event directed and founded by Matteo Pianezzi cannot, however, be archived without the celebration of the short films in competition, the true protagonists of the kermesse.
Among the 30 competing this year, screened between Golfo Aranci and its surroundings over six evenings and judged by quality and international juries, “Cura Sana” by Lucia Romero stands out, awarded as Best International Short, and “Playing God” by Matteo Burani, Animation section. Two special mentions were awarded to two international titles: “Caught in 4K” by directors Adriana Mrnjavac and Nicole Stigler and “The man who could not remain silent” by Croatian Nebojša Slijepčević.
Best Regional Short “Una faccia da cinema” by Alberto Salvucci, Best National Short “Majoneize” by Giulia Grandinetti, who also won the Audience Award, the popular jury prize. The France TV Prize, corresponding to the purchase and television distribution of one of the shorts in competition, went to “The Shell” by Giuseppe Lauri, while the WeShort Prize was awarded to “Marcello” by Maurizio Lombardi.
“After a few days to gather my thoughts and get some rest, I can officially close an edition that marks a decisive moment for the Figari International Short Film Fest, confirming its international vocation and its centrality as a space for reflection and discovery,” Pianezzi intervenes. “The quality of the selected films and the presence of authors, talents and important guests have made this edition a point of reference for those who still consider cinema a necessary, living language capable of questioning the present.”
Excellent feedback also came from the market, the industry section of the festival, which hosted pitches, B2B meetings, presentations of projects in development and training panels. “The results were extraordinary: new alliances were born on the Balkan front and with streaming platforms, and a production axis was consolidated that unites Italy, Spain and South America, a concrete and structured path that looks to the future with ambition and responsibility”, adds the host. “In a context in which culture – and in particular cinema – appears increasingly under attack in Italy, the Figari International Short Film Fest and its market confirm themselves as a cultural outpost, a place of resistance, innovation and vision”, concludes Pianezzi, who thanks the Municipality of Golfo Aranci and the Region of Sardinia for their support and France TV.
