To streamline transport and logistics and avoid participants spending half the festival traveling to and from the Italian Riviera, this year’s Italian Global Series festival has drawn a clearer line between the two host cities. Rimini will host the opening days (July 3-6), Riccione will host the central matches (July 7-10), and then the event will return to Rimini for the closing ceremony on July 11.
The split should also give visitors more time to absorb the festival’s unique surroundings, from the historic Cinema Furgol, where the young Federico Fellini first fell in love with the magic of cinema, to the impressive Castel Sismondo, a 15th-century fortress that now houses the Fellini Museum. In fact, rather than treating Rimini’s most famous son as a background, IGS made him its patron saint.
“The spirit of Federico Fellini is always present,” says artistic director Marco Spagnoli. “Beyond the obvious reasons, I honestly believe that if he were alive today, he would have made the series. Of course, it would have been hugely ambitious and expensive, and it would have been a masterpiece. Fellini loved movies, but most of all he loved audiences. The possibility of reaching people through long-form storytelling would have fascinated him.”
As a mark of remembrance, the festival will host an open-ended conversation titled “Fellini’s Lost” with showrunner Carlton Cuse (“Lost,” “Bates Motel,” “Jack Ryan”) and Oscar-winner John Ridley (“The Night Begins”). In this session, we invite long-time collaborators and co-creators of “Five Days at Memorial” to passionately discuss the common obsessions they discovered during their student days.
cinema full goal
This focus on youth runs throughout this year’s edition. Through the inaugural IGS Summer School, 60 film and television students from Rimini and Riccione will form a “super jury” and, after participating in screenings, press conferences and master classes, will be awarded the new Maximino Prize alongside the festival’s official honors.
“In Italy, it’s often difficult to jump into the industry from university,” says Chiara Svarigia, president of the Italian Audiovisual Producers Association and one of the festival’s organizers. “This gives students direct access to the professional world, allowing them to meet producers, directors and top creators face-to-face. At the same time, it is also a form of market research, as understanding how young audiences engage with content is one of the industry’s biggest challenges.”
Given the significant organizational overlap with Rome’s MIA market (also overseen by APA and coordinated by Spagnoli), the public-facing IGS has less pressure to formalize industry programs and instead fits well with the festival’s broader appeal as a seaside getaway where professionals can connect and relax.
But within its relaxed, business-casual framework, the festival carves out room for something new. It is Pitch Crime, an initiative dedicated to the development of crime series for the Italian and international markets. The program is aimed at film companies looking to enter television and begins with a selection phase, followed by one-on-one pitch sessions with producers and industry insiders. The most promising entries will receive a Maximo Award and a development grant.
“This is an experiment,” Svarigia admits. “We want to see if it’s possible to breathe new life into this business. If it goes well and the winner finds a co-producer or commissioner, we’ll consider launching the film internationally next year with a longer application period.”
In the long term, Svarigia hopes to build more space, finding new ways for international screenwriters and showrunners to bounce ideas off each other, while opening up similar spaces to student participants.
“I want more time, not longer, but I want to offer a greater variety of professional activities,” she says. “Thanks to Fellini and thanks to the local passion, Rimini is very welcoming of creativity. It’s a really beautiful place to exchange ideas.”
Lucia Borgonzoni, Marco Spagnoli, Chiara Sbarigia
