SEATTLE—Cinema Italian Style 2026 will take place from Wednesday, November 18 through Sunday, November 22, 2026, at SIFF Cinema Uptown (511 Queen Anne Avenue N, Seattle, Wash).
Now in its 18th year, this much-anticipated annual festival showcases a vibrant selection of 12 acclaimed films, special guests from Italy, and some of the most exciting new works in contemporary Italian cinema.
This year’s Cinema Italian Style offers something for everyone – from dramas and comedies to a documentary. The November time frame gives organizers access to the latest films that played this September at the Venice International Film Festival, or were recently released for Oscar consideration.
“It’s an honor to bring this historic celebration of Italian cinema back to Seattle, a place where beauty, passion, and storytelling truly shine,” said Elisabetta Valentini, Honorary Consul of Italy in Seattle. “We’re grateful for our donors and our community, who have been so supporting of this amazing cultural event.”
This year’s program opens with Gioia mia (Sweetheart), directed by Margherita Spampinato, winner of the David di Donatello Award for Best New Director. The Seattle festival also features Che Dio Perdona a Tutti, a contemporary Italian comedy that blends Pif’s signature irony with themes of love, faith, hypocrisy, and Sicilian culture. Starring Pif and Giusy Buscemi, the film is set in Palermo, where Sicilian pastry plays a charming and colorful role in the story. In addition, the festival will present Un Anno di Scuola – fresh from its Cannes premiere and directed by award-winning filmmaker Laura Samani.
More information, including a longer description of the movies with film trailers, and the purchase of tickets and passes are available at https://www.cinemaitalianstyleseattle.org/.
This year, we’re delighted to host Nicolangelo Gelormini, director of La Gioia and Carolina
Cavalli director of The kidnapping of Arabella, who will join us in Seattle to present their
films.
Cinema Italian Style Festival 2026 – Movie Schedule
| WED NOV 18 6:00pm | Gioia Mia (Sweetheart) Italy | 2025 | 92 min. | Margherita Spampinato | A reluctant summer together transforms into an enchanting adventure when a young boy discovers his aunt’s mysterious Sicilian house holds secrets and, perhaps, ancient spirits lurking within its walls. |
| THURS NOV 19 5:30pm | Elisa Italy | 2025 | 105 min. | Leonardo Di Costanzo | After a decade in prison for her sister’s murder, Elisa barely remembers the crime. A criminologist helps her uncover buried memories, leading her toward potential redemption. |
| THURS NOV 19 8:00pm | Un Anno di Scoula (A Year of School) Italy | 2025 | 102 min. | Laura Samani | Fred, a Swedish student, arrives in Trieste and finds herself in a class of only boys. Three inseparable friends are immediately drawn to her, putting their bond to the test. She tries to become part of the group, but doing so means giving up her own identity. |
| FRI NOV 20 3:00pm | Brunello: Il Visionario Garbato (The Gracious Visionary – Documentary) Italy | 2025 | 120 min. | Giuseppe Tornatore | A farmer’s son transforms into a fashion mogul, building a billion-dollar luxury empire while staying true to his humanistic values and commitment to ethical business practices and fine craftsmanship. |
| FRI NOV 20 5:30pm | La Gioia (Gioia) Italy | 2025 | 108 min. | Nicolangelo Gelormini | A high school teacher living with her parents forms a forbidden connection with a troubled student who turns to prostitution to support his mother. Their fragile bond becomes unexpectedly essential to both. Special guest: Nicolangelo Gelormini |
| FRI NOV 20 8:00pm | Le Citta di Pianura (The Last One for the Road) Italy | 2025 | 100 min. | Francesco Sossai | Two blustery 50-somethings have an obsession: going for their last drink. One night, they run into Giulio, a shy architecture student, whose way of seeing the world and love will be transformed as the trio wander from bar to bar of Veneto. |
| SAT NOV 21 3:00pm | L’estranea (The Spiral) Italy | 2026 | 115 min. | Paolo Strippoli | A mother arrives at her daughter’s apartment during a storm to confess a lie that undermines their family’s foundation, leading to an unraveling relationship between them. |
| SAT NOV 21 5:30pm | The Rapimento di Arabella (The Kidnapping of Arabella Italy | 2025 | 107 min. | Carolina Cavalli | An Italian woman named Holly is convinced she’s the wrong version of herself until meeting a 7-year-old girl who changes her perspective. Special guest: Director Carolina Cavalli |
| SAT NOV 21 8:00pm | L’Amore Sta Bene Su Tutto (Love Fits Everything) Italy | 2025 | 96 min. | Giampaolo Morelli | Three stories intertwine through misunderstandings, old wounds, and new discoveries, while love – in all its forms – surprises, heals, and profoundly transforms the lives of the protagonists. |
| SUN NOV 22 1:00pm | Viaggo in Italia (Journey to Italy Italy | 1954 | 97 min. | Roberto Rossellini | An unhappily married couple attempts to find direction and insight while vacationing in Naples. |
| SUN NOV 22 3:00pm | Amata (Beloved) Italy | 2025 | 104 min. | Elisa Amoruso | Two women face opposing fertility struggles: a young Nunzia grapples with an unplanned pregnancy while longing for carefree days, as Maddalena, at 40, desperately tries to conceive a child. |
| SUN NOV 22 5:30pm | Che Dio Perdona a Tutti (God Forgives Everyone) Italy | 2026 | 113 min. | PIF | Arturo, a brilliant but lonely real‑estate agent with an unwavering love for desserts, falls head‑over‑heels for Flora, a charming pastry chef and devout Catholic. To win her heart, he pretends to be a believer, embarking on a humorous and heartfelt journey that forces him to confront faith, honesty, and himself – with an unexpected assist from the Pope. |
Special thanks to Alaska Airlines, Official Airline Sponsor of Cinema Italian Style.
Source: Il Punto Seattle
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
