From September 29 to October 1, at the Casa del cinema in Rome, the ninth edition of the VerticalMovie Festival unfolds, the first international festival dedicated to video and short films in vertical format, born from an idea of artistic director Salvatore Marino. This year the VerticalMovie grows and expands over three intense days rich in masterclasses, meetings, guests, screenings, awards, and new features. Among these, the section VerticalTalent Powered by Canon, added to the established segments that divide the competition works by topics and themes: Vertical Voices (human rights, gender equality, LGBTQ+ communities, ethnic minorities, disability), Vertical Open (open topic), Vertical Green (environment and sustainability), Vertical AI (made with Artificial Intelligence). VerticalTalent is not just a section, but a practical, high-level training path dedicated to emerging creatives eager to explore the narrative potential of vertical cinema: following a tailored masterclass, the five selected filmmakers produced their own work using Canon EOS C50 free of charge. Another novelty of VerticalMovie 2026 is the opening to series; and indeed among the five winners of VerticalTalent we find, for example, a 24-episode vertical drama produced by Pier Giorgio Bellocchio (Mompracem) and written and directed by Franco Bertini that features the cast Emanuela Rossi, Marco Cesare, Marco Manusso, and the voice of Francesco Pannofino.
The Festival thus looks toward cinema and toward the young people who love it and want to learn to make it well, in both themes and technique: hence space for the DAM Academy (Academy of Digital Arts and Media), the Schools Against Racism, sustainable cinema, the idea of educational plans that make young people not dependent but masters of their smartphones, the VerticalMovie Academy which will be launched in grand style at the end of the Festival. And to the great protagonists: Silvia Scola who, with us, remembers her father Ettore ten years after his passing, Guido De Angelis who walks with us through the successes of the Oliver Onions. The award evenings are hosted by Jennifer Mischiati, actress of cinema, theater, and TV. On the jury, chaired by Scola herself, Fabrizio Fornaci, a renowned composer of film scores. Salvatore Marino explains:
La nostra ragione è la stessa dal primo giorno: il verticale è un linguaggio d’autore. Non l’orientamento accidentale di un dispositivo, ma una scelta di composizione, dove l’altezza sfida la larghezza, il corpo sfida l’orizzonte, l’intimità sfida il panorama. Per un autore, il 2026 non è l’anno in cui il verticale è diventato di moda: è l’anno in cui è diventato un mestiere. VerticalMovie nasce per presidiare questa soglia. Per essere il luogo in cui il formato che tutti stanno monetizzando viene trattato, prima di tutto, come cinema. Un luogo dove si difende l’autorialità, si forma chi girerà le opere di domani, si dà spazio al rischio anziché alla formula, e dove presto quelle opere troveranno una casa che le custodisca oltre la serata. Non contro il mercato, ma dentro il mercato, con una domanda che le app non si pongono: e se il verticale, oltre a trattenerci, potesse anche dirci qualcosa? La nona edizione porta a Roma opere da oltre cento Paesi, su schermi alti fino a dieci metri. Tre giorni per guardare in verticale ciò che il resto del mondo scorre. Perché il formato, ormai, lo conoscono tutti. Il cinema, quello, bisogna ancora sceglierlo”.
The Program for September 30
At 3:00 PM, Marco Gisotti, director of the Observatory on Entertainment and Environment, and Letizia Palmisano, environmental journalist, inaugurate the Green Factor event “Green Dialogues on Cinema,” exploring the possible role of the audiovisual industry in favor of sustainability. At 4:30 PM, David Metalli, Senior Product Business Developer, leads the Canon Masterclass, the festival’s technical sponsor with the new VerticalTalent section. During the session, the five winning works are screened. From 7:00 PM to midnight, the main evening of the international competition takes place, with the international works in competition screened by their authors and opportunities for dialogue with the audience in the hall.
The Program for October 1
The final day offers a rich program. Thursday, October 1, begins at 3:00 PM with the panel “The Screen in the Pocket” led by Annamaria Esposito of Rai News 24. They discuss social media dependence aiming at sustainable digital well-being with Ada Lentini (surgeon, psychotherapist bioenergetic), Tiziana Biolghini (councillor of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital), Riccardo Cotumaccio (digital creator), and Giorgio Secli (The Offline Club – Milan). The participation of Massimiliano Smeriglio (Culture Councillor of Rome Capital) is expected. At 4:45 PM, the conversation with Guido De Angelis, a composer, musician, and producer known worldwide: with the Oliver Onions, a duo formed with his brother Maurizio, he created the soundtracks for hundreds of films and TV series, from the spaghetti Western saga with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill to the iconic theme of Sandokan. The conversation is hosted by Massimo Cervelli, host of Rai Radio 2. Journalist Gianluca Croce contributes. At 6:15 PM another event of great interest, with Silvia Scola, screenwriter and president of the festival’s jury, who, on the tenth anniversary of her father Ettore’s passing, revisits the figure of the author and master of Italian cinema, with whom she collaborated on many of his works. The discussion is moderated by Massimo Cervelli, with the input of Walter Veltroni. From 8:00 PM the awards ceremony for the best works in competition, hosted by Jennifer Mischiati and Salvatore Marino. The VerticalMovie Festival 2026 ends with the launch of VerticalMovie Academy, the school where one learns to tell stories through images on the screen that accompanies us every day. All of this in a convivial evening of celebration with guests and a DJ set.
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