From 7 to 16 May 2026, the Cortisonici Film Festival returns to Varese for its 23rd edition. Born and developed in the city, the festival is now one of Italy’s most recognisable events dedicated to short films: a programme that combines cinematic research, independent spirit, attention to young filmmakers and a strong international outlook.

For ten days, Varese becomes a meeting point for audiences, directors, students and film lovers, with screenings, competitions, talks and informal events spread across the city. Cortisonici is not just a festival to be watched from a cinema seat: it is a temporary community built around cinema, ideas and new perspectives on the present.

As tradition dictates, the heart of the festival will be the International Competition, featuring 22 short films from 16 countries. The selection offers a journey through different cultures, languages and sensibilities, from Europe to Asia, from the Americas to Africa, alternating emerging young filmmakers with works already presented at major international festivals.

Alongside the competition, the 2026 Focus also returns, entitled “I’ll be back – Cinema and Time Travel”. The programme explores one of cinema’s most fascinating themes: the relationship between time, memory, future and possibility. Screenings and talks will bring together cinema, science, philosophy and pop culture, with the participation of astrophysicist Luca Perri, who will lead a special event dedicated to the physics of time travel.

Great attention will also be given to younger generations, with Cortisonici Ragazzi and Cortisonici Academy, sections dedicated respectively to short films made by under-18 filmmakers and to works created within university and training contexts. More than just a showcase, these sections represent an investment in the future of cinema and in the development of a young, curious and engaged audience.

For those looking for more extreme visions, Inferno returns: the festival’s night-time and experimental section, dedicated to the freest, boldest and most unconventional forms of short cinema. The 2026 edition will also feature the special event “I miti infernali vol. 1 – Tutto Werther Germondari”, a tribute to an ironic, rebellious and excessive filmmaker, perfectly in tune with the spirit of the section.

Cortisonici also confirms its strong bond with the city and the local area. The festival involves several venues in Varese and also extends into the province, turning screenings into opportunities for encounters between audiences, filmmakers and organisers. Among the socially significant initiatives is Sguardi dentro, a project involving the Varese Prison through the active participation of the Inmates’ Jury.

The International Competition will take place at Cinema Nuovo in Varese on the evenings of Thursday 7, Friday 8 and Saturday 9 May, starting at 8:45 p.m. The short films will be evaluated by a technical jury made up of Lombardy FICE cinema exhibitors, by the audience jury through in-theatre voting, and by two special juries: one composed of students from the University of Insubria and one made up of inmates from the Varese Prison.

The Inferno section will accompany the festival with night-time screenings dedicated to the most radical and experimental cinema, while the Focus “I’ll be back – Cinema and Time Travel” will enrich the programme with screenings and in-depth talks.

The Cortisonici Ragazzi and Cortisonici Academy sections will be dedicated to young filmmakers, from under-18 authors to university students and participants in training programmes.

The festival will also come alive outside the cinemas, with informal and convivial moments in several city venues, including Limbosco, Giardini Livellanza, Tumiturbi and Così com’è, the pizzeria considered the festival’s “home base”. A special evening will also take place in the province, at Materia Spazio Libero, on 14 May, featuring a new screening of the winning short films.

The full programme and updates are available on the official Cortisonici website.

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