Javier Bardem received the career award at the 21st Rome Film Festival on 17 October 2026, handed to him by director Paolo Sorrentino in the Sala Sinopoli at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. The presentation coincided with the festival screening of El ser querido, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which had already competed at Cannes. Before going in, Bardem spent time on the red carpet signing autographs and taking selfies with fans behind the barriers. He then posed for photographers, went back, and sat down among them, a moment Adnkronos said would stay among the festival's most iconic images. Inside the hall, a two-minute montage of four decades of his films ran on the screen, from Almodóvar to Mare dentro, according to La Repubblica.
Bardem's remarks on the red carpet moved from Rome's cultural weight to the politics of the twentieth century. He listed the poets, writers, painters and musicians who had described the city, then said Italy had also produced Mussolini. When citizens give up their responsibilities and hand power to people opposed to basic human rights, he argued, leaders of that kind can follow, and he named Franco, Hitler and Netanyahu in the same breath. He drew the point in one line:
“But this is also Franco, and this is Hitler, and this is Netanyahu.”
He also described cinema as a remedy for what he called a time of disconnection, when people feel in contact while drifting apart and building bunkers around themselves. In a dark room, he said, people sit beside their friends and their enemies and live an emotional journey rather than merely watching. He named Otto e mezzo as his favourite Italian film, which he said he revisits every year, finding something new each time.
Bardem used the red carpet to back young people taking to the streets, calling their demonstrations a sign of vitality and hope. He said adults should stay close to them through their own presence, both personal and professional. According to him, the movement that began in Spain has spread to France and Italy, and an important demonstration had taken place in Rome that same day. He said he had seen many young people on the carpet and was struck by their wish to watch films with substance, away from streaming and the algorithm. Victoria Luengo, his co-star in El ser querido, told RTVE that people are very tired and angry because the situation has become unsustainable, linking that anger to government policies and to the rise of fascism worldwide.
Sorrentino introduced Bardem to the audience with praise for a wonderful actor and said he was happy to present the prize. He joked that Bardem keeps telling him they should make a film together, a claim he thought was probably untrue but delivered with such passion that he chose to believe it. Asked by reporters whether he would like to work with an Italian director, Bardem smiled and said 'of course, who wouldn't?'.
“I am very happy to be awarding a wonderful actor.”
Accepting the award, Bardem thanked the festival, apologised for his 'terrible Italian', and said prizes should be received, thanked and celebrated, then forgotten.
“I believe they should be received, thanked and celebrated, and then forgotten, so that one can keep moving forward and growing.”
He said he hoped to keep deserving the honour through his future work. Movies Inspired will release El ser querido in Italian cinemas on 12 November.
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Spanish actor Javier Bardem accepted the career award at the 21st Rome Film Festival on 17 October from Paolo Sorrentino, then tied his remarks to Europe's youth protests.
AI text based on reports by Il Messaggero, RTVE.es, La Repubblica.it and other publishers. Published .