PRIMA CORRENTE
THE FESTIVAL IN BELLANO DEDICATED TO DEBUT MOVIES IN ITALIAN CINEMA
Six events, running from October 2026 to March 2027, offering the chance to meet the new talents of Italian cinema. Each screening will be attended by the director, who will take part in a discussion with the audience.
Prima Corrente, the cinematographic festival organised by the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo in collaboration with Bellano Town Council and the Bellano Movie Theater, under the patronage of the Lombardy Region and the Province of Lecco, is launched in Bellano, on Lake Como. The festival is dedicated to directors and their debut feature films.
From October 2026 to March 2027, the festival – under the artistic direction of Gian Luca Pisacane, journalist and film critic for *Rivista del Cinematografo* – will bring six debut Italian films to the Bellano Movie Theater, via Roma 3, with one screening per month and the respective directors in attendance, who will engage with the audience and meet students from local schools.
“The audience in Bellano and the surrounding area,” says Monsignor Davide Milani, president of the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, “has a discerning and inquisitive eye, accustomed to engaging with cinema thoughtfully: with ‘Prima Corrente’, they will have the opportunity to see the Italian cinema of the future right now, meeting the directors who are shaping it in the cinema and engaging directly with them. The Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, together with *Rivista del Cinematografo*, is putting its experience at the service of these emerging talents, so that their work is not confined to the festival circuit but reaches the place where a film truly comes into its own: in front of audiences capable of recognising its value and supporting its journey.”
Antonio Rusconi, Mayor of Bellano, says: “With ‘Prima Corrente’, we are reaffirming our commitment to placing culture at the heart of our community, including through cinema, thanks to our valuable collaboration with the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo. The Bellano Cinema is thus increasingly becoming a hub for culture and community, a place to meet, exchange ideas and discover new voices in Italian cinema.”
The festival will open with *Life Is (Not) a Game* by Antonio Valerio Spera, scheduled for Wednesday 7 October 2026. This will be followed by *Cattiva strada* by Davide Angiuli on Wednesday 11 November; *The Madmen Coach* by Carlo Liberatore on Wednesday 16 December; *La calle pura* by Alfredo Chiarappa on Wednesday 13 January 2027; *I figli della scimmia* by Tommaso Landucci on Wednesday 3 February; and *Tienimi presente* by Alberto Palmiero on Wednesday 10 March.
At the end of the festival, the Prima Corrente Award will be presented, chosen directly by the audience through their votes. This initiative focuses on filmmakers and their first steps in cinema, creating an opportunity for dialogue between new voices in Italian cinema, the audience and the local community.
Prima Corrente thus aims to forge a direct relationship between filmmakers making their debut on the big screen and a community of filmgoers invited to discover, listen to and support the new directions in Italian cinema.
The award is intended to provide tangible support for the winning director’s career: the prize will, in fact, contribute towards the costs of their next film project, through support that will include not only financial assistance but also services and opportunities provided by the local area. These include accommodation in Bellano during filming, access to filming locations, meals and logistical support.
Bellano plays a central role in this journey: it is not only the venue for the festival, but a region to be discovered and from which to draw inspiration. The directors’ stay will, in fact, be an opportunity to get to know the village and its cultural and scenic resources: from the historic centre to the lakeside promenade, from the Sentiero del Viandante to the Orrido di Bellano and the BAC Bellano Arte Cultura itinerary – featuring the Giancarlo Vitali Museum, San Nicolao Arte Contemporanea, the churches of S. Marta and Ss. Nazaro and Celso, and the MUU Museum of Milk and the History of the Muggiasca in Vendrogno – as well as the stories of local artists. This immersion in the local area will offer the filmmakers new inspiration, locations and narrative ideas for their future film projects.
n this sense, the award is not merely a recognition of a debut film, but becomes an investment in the filmmaker’s future and their next film project, strengthening the link between cinema and the local area.
All screenings will take place at the Bellano Movie Theater, starting at 8.45 pm. A single ticket costs €6, whilst a season ticket for the entire programme is available for €24. Season tickets and individual film tickets can be purchased from 26 September 2026 via the link https://shop.midaticket.it/CinemaBellano/Events
For information and bookings:
Tel: 0341 1570370
Guided tour with the curator Chiara Gatti and Bellano Heritage Curators at the exhibition “DEVOTA. Art and the Sacred, Territory and Community”
