Around 100 short movies have been subscripted to this year’s 8th edition of the Ermanno Olmi Award, intended to promote works from young directors. The Award, promoted by the City of Bergamo, where the director was born, has attracted fictions, documentaries, experimental and animated films from a wide range of countries around the world such as (Iran, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, the USA, Cuba, Iraq, Turkey and Ukraine, among others), and a substantial European and e Italian presence.
Dedicated to filmmakers under 30 years of age, the Award consists of 3 cash prizes (€1,200, €600, and €400) and a special mention on a theme chosen by the City administration. The winner of the special mention will receive a €300 cash prize offered by Federazione Italiana Cineforum ETS itself.
The 2026 Award’s finalists are: La Pinetella/The little pine grove by Dario Fusco (Italy, 2025), Kanaan by Dominik Mirecki (Poland, 2026), Your City by Ting Su (China, France, United States, 2026) and Il gatto di Monica/Monica’s cat by Letizia Zatti (Italy, 2025).
A contendersi il Premio dell’edizione 2026 sono: La Pinetella di Dario Fusco (Italia, 2025), Kanaan di Dominik Mirecki (Polonia, 2026), Your City di Ting Su (Cina, Francia, USA, 2026) e Il gatto di Monica di Letizia Zatti (Italia, 2025).
«With approximately 100 films submitted from every corner of the world, the Ermanno Olmi Award demonstrates a fully mature international reach. This is not merely a matter of numbers, but also reflects the remarkable artistic quality of all the works received: a richness of expression and technical accomplishment that made the jury’s task particularly challenging, as it faced a selection of films distinguished by their outstanding perspectives. The difficulty of choosing is the clearest confirmation that the Award has become part of the global filmmaking landscape, recognised by today’s filmmakers as a platform of genuine artistic value. Bergamo thus establishes itself not merely as a spectator, but as a space for international exchange and dialogue among a new generation of filmmakers, capable of engaging with the present with the courage and sensitivity that Ermanno Olmi taught us»
– Sergio Gandi, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Bergamo
The Award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, December 1st at 8.15 p.m. at CULT! Diffusione culturale / Sala dell’Orologio – Piazza Libertà in Bergamo at the presence of the jury composed of Nadia Ghisalberti (producer, PERSEOfilm), Giuliano Magni (cinematographer and film editor), Valentina Masper (film programmer and curator, Lab 80 film), Monica Masucci (media educator), Federico Pedroni (film critic).
In addition to the three cash prizes, a special mention to the most significant short film which presents the theme “Living in the World”: the relationship between people and the places they inhabit. Ermanno Olmi always explored how landscapes shape human identity. How can the connection between individuals and territories/places be portrayed, between memory and urban and rural transformation? What does it mean today to feel part of a place?
The four short finalists will be screened during the evening – which is free admission – alongside a tribute to Ermanno Olmi with the screening of Durante l’estate/In The Summertime (Italy, 1971): a less known work in Olmi’s filmography, this skillfully crafted movie tells a minimalist story that aims to be a modern fairy tale.
THE FINALISTS
La Pinetella/The little pine grov
by Dario Fusco (Italy, 2025 – 6’44”)
A woman relives memories of her adolescence in the place where they happened.
Dario Fusco was born in Naples in 2002. In 2022 he participated in the collective film Procida taking care of the direction, photography and audio. In the same year he participated in the filming of the short film Welcome to Paradise as a photography assistant. He is currently working on his first feature-length documentary.
Kanaan
by Dominik Mirecki (Poland, 2026 – 14’58”)
Two immigrants from the Middle East, who fled to Poland escaping the war, work illegally on renovations. During an assignment, they find a man’s body. Will they call the police when they are threatened with deportation?
Dominik Mirecki was born in 1996, director and screenwriter. His previous film, Son of Happiness was selected for the Future Frames 2025 program at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. His latest short film, Kanaan, was featured in Variety magazine. He is currently developing his feature film debut.
Your City
by Ting Su (China, France, United States, 2026 – 14’58”)
A fragmented memoir-diary disguised as a disaster film. What begins as a mundane phone call slowly unravels into a storm of uncertainty. Between Shenzhen and New York, cities built by migration and constant change: two queer voices, a river of analog film and thermal imagery. A film that builds and collapses around the small lives caught in the unease of the present.
Ting Su (2003) is a Chinese filmmaker and sound designer based between New York and Shenzhen. She studied at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her works include Daily Worker and Your City.
Il gatto di Monica/Monica’s cat
by Letizia Zatti (Italy, 2025 – 13’)
Adele is a catsitter who takes advantage of other people’s houses to meet up with Pietro, her friend with benefits. No one will notice anything anyway…
Letizia Zatti (1997) is an Italian director and screenwriter who grew up in Bergamo. After graduating with a diploma in Film Production from the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti in Milan, she continued her training at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. She began her career working as an assistant director and in backstage roles on film and advertising productions, whilst simultaneously developing her own projects, including Acqua che scorre non porta veleno, Dissidia and Bambine mie.
