Reasons To Get Out and About in Rome - The Isola Del Cinema Festival

For a tourist staying in an Italian design hotel, Rome will probably feel like their own personal oyster. There is so much to see and do in this wonderful city that any stay will inevitably feel too short; with luck, they will be able see all the main monuments and landmarks, with perhaps a few more obscure or exclusive destinations added in. This city, however, takes no pity on short-stay holidaymakers! It continues to throw up more and more can’t-miss events, sometimes forcing them to stretch their schedule even more than they would otherwise.

The latest such exciting event to pop up in the city’s cultural schedule is the Isola del Cinema festival, which gives tourists visiting the Italian capital – particularly those fond of underground or auteur cinema – yet another reason to leave the comfort of their design hotel. Rome’s most unique film festival takes place every June, and showcases some of the most exciting young filmmakers on the international scene, coupling good independent cinema with an appealing, unusual location to create a package no film enthusiast could resist.

Two Weeks Of Indie Art

Overall, the programme for the Isola del Cinema festival sprawls over the first two or so weeks of June, presenting a variety of independently funded and produced cinematic works. The offer ranges from full-length features to snippets as short as three minutes, submitted by both local directors and filmmakers from locations as remote as Croatia, Iraq and Finland. Film enthusiasts can count on this festival to deliver a varied array of movies, with something for fans of all genres.

Primarily, however, the festival wins on the basis of its location. Rather than take up residence in a town-centre auditorium or screening room, the Isola del Cinema (literally ‘Island of Cinema’) instead chooses to settle in Tiberina, an island in the centre of the Tiber River, within the Rome city limits. This unusual and appealing setting further helps the festival attract a wide audience, as even those less familiar with the work of the directors involved in each edition will not pass up the opportunity to attend a festival set in an inner-city island.

Beyond making use of this marketing gem, however, the Isola del Cinema event is able to stand on its own two feet, offering a film-festival experience capable of rivalling other, more established events in Italy and even worldwide. For tourists looking for motivation to make more frequent forays outside their design hotel, Rome’s most unique film festival can therefore present a very compelling argument.

Looking for a great hotel in Rome? Roberta Stuart is the Travel Manager for Worldhotels, a company offering top class accommodation in a design hotel, Rome, as well as a selection of unique four and five star hotels around the world.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.