If your film is selected for the ninth edition and you are able to travel, we hope you will. Being in the room when your work meets its audience is the whole point of a festival like ours. For those making the trip to Rome for the first time, here is a practical guide to arriving, staying, and using the hours between screenings well.
Getting to Rome
Most international visitors arrive at Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) Airport, west of the city. The Leonardo Express train runs from the airport directly to Roma Termini, the central station, in about thirty minutes, and it is by far the simplest way in — no negotiating with traffic, no surprises. Rome's second airport, Ciampino, mainly serves budget and regional carriers and connects to the city by shuttle bus and rail. From elsewhere in Italy or Europe, Termini is a major rail hub and often the more civilised option than flying.
Where to stay
The festival is based in the north of the city, at Via Anastasio 11/372, in the area around the Vatican and Prati. We recommend filmmakers look for accommodation that balances two things: reasonable proximity to the festival and easy access to the metro. Some orientation:
- Prati — elegant, walkable, close to the association's base and the Vatican, well served by Metro Line A.
- Around Termini — the widest range of budgets and the easiest transport links, if less charming.
- Trastevere — across the river, lively in the evenings, a longer but pleasant journey to the north of the city.
- Monti — central, characterful, walking distance to much of the historic core.
Rome is a large city but a legible one, and its metro, buses and trams will get you where you need to be. A rechargeable transit pass is worth buying on arrival if you plan to move around.
The hours between screenings
A festival schedule leaves gaps, and Rome is a generous city to have gaps in. You do not need us to tell you about the Colosseum or the Vatican Museums; they are extraordinary and they are also, in high season, extraordinarily crowded, so book ahead if they matter to you.
What we will say is that the best of Rome is often the unticketed part. Walk. The city rewards it more than almost any other. Cross a piazza at dusk. Sit with an espresso — standing at the bar, like a Roman, for a fraction of the seated price. Find the small church you were not looking for. The neorealists understood that Rome's genius is in its streets, not only its monuments, and a filmmaker with a free afternoon is in an ideal position to prove them right.
The best of Rome is often the unticketed part. Walk the city — it rewards it more than almost anywhere.
Eating well, simply
You will eat well almost anywhere you avoid the menus printed in six languages beside the major sights. Roman cooking is plain and superb — built on a handful of pasta dishes the city has perfected over generations. Trust the crowded, unglamorous places full of people who clearly live nearby. Lunch is taken seriously; dinner is taken late.
A practical note
Italy uses the euro, and while cards are widely accepted, a little cash is useful for the standing espresso and the small trattoria. Summers are hot; autumns, when the festival takes place, are milder and among the loveliest times to be in the city. Comfortable shoes are not optional — the cobblestones are beautiful and unforgiving in equal measure.
If you have questions about visiting for the festival, the office is glad to help — reach us at our contact page or by phone at +39 333 895 5455. And if you have not yet submitted, the ninth edition is open on FilmFreeway. We would love to welcome you to Rome.
Inte Cinema Festival is an independent short film festival and cultural association based in Rome. Submissions for the 9th Edition are open now on FilmFreeway.