Best Film Award at Rome Film Fest

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning was named Best Film at the 21st Rome Film Fest, which took place last Saturday at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. The award was given by a jury chaired by Polish director Jan Komasa.

Film's themes and director's comments

The British director Clio Barnard, who directed the film, stated, "Our film is about job insecurity and the enormous pressures young people are facing just to secure the bare minimum in life – a roof over their heads and a little money in their pockets." She added, "Young people are protesting for good reason. If we resist attempts to divide us and remain united, change will be possible."

Shared acting award and other honors

The film also won the Best Actor award, shared between Anthony Boyle and Italian actor Paolo Pierobon, who stars in Brianza. Best Director went to Rafiki Fariala for Congo Boy, which also received an Audience Award shared with Kasia Smutniak's documentary Mustang.

Director's perspective on Congo Boy

Fariala, who comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explained, "When you are a refugee, you are a prisoner, and the prison is society itself. But we are all human beings and, despite the difficulties, I prefer to keep hope alive and move forward with my head held high."

Other competition winners

The competition's other awards were won by the Al Mawla family, who received the Special Jury Prize for Rakan Mayasi's Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep; Diego Luna's Ashes, which won Best Screenplay; and Victoria Luengo, who was named Best Actress for her performance in Mikel Gurrea's Saints.

Best First Film and documentary honors

The Best First Film award, decided upon by a jury chaired by screenwriter Ludovica Rampoldi, was handed to Lisa Forslund's Clementine Orange, with a special mention going to Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas A Vignale's Argentinian movie, The River Train. The Best Documentary award, unanimously agreed upon by a jury chaired by director Roberto Minervini, went to Mahsa Karampour's Into the Jaws of the Ogre.

Youth and Italian film sections

In the Alice nella Città section, Sandra Wollner's Austrian-German title, Everytime, was voted Best Film by 35 young people aged between 16 and 19. The Best Italian Film, selected by a jury headed up by director Riccardo Milani, was Giacomo Mazzariol's Senza chiedere permesso, which was praised as "a different and extraordinary work that succeeds in placing disability at the centre of the narrative without falling into rhetorical traps."

Festival's future and closing remarks

Following an edition which recorded close to 120,000 admissions and which hosted 527 screenings in four Auditorium screens and in 13 cinemas across the city, the festival is already looking ahead to next year. Salvatore Nastasi, president of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, stated at the closing press conference where the dates of the festival's next edition were also announced: the 22nd Rome Film Fest will run from 19 to 31 October 2027.