Clio Barnard's I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning wins best film at Rome Film Festival

Best film and acting prizes

Clio Barnard's I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning won best film at the 21st Festa del Cinema di Roma, a result announced on 24 October. The jury was chaired by Polish director Jan Komasa, and the film had earlier won the audience prize at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes in Cannes. The best actor award was shared by Anthony Boyle, who appears in Barnard's film, and by Paolo Pierobon for Brianza, directed by Simone Catania. Victoria Luengo took best actress for Sants, directed by Mikel Gurrea. The Grand Jury Prize went to The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd by Tim Blake Nelson, while Rafiki Fariala won best director for Congo Boy.

Barnard said the film deals with the pressures young people face simply to get by, and argued that uniting against division can make change possible.

“The film is about the pressures young people face just to get the bare minimum in life.”

Other prizes in the competition

Diego Luna collected the best screenplay award for Ceniza en la boca, which he wrote with Abia Castillo and Diego Rabasa. A special jury prize went to the Al Mawla family for Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep. The Poste Italiane prize for best first feature went to Clementine Orange by Lisa Forslund, and El tren fluvial by Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas A. Vignale received a special mention. The best documentary award went to Dans la gueule de l'ogre (Into the Jaws of the Ogre) by Mahsa Karampour, with a special mention for Un hiver russe by Patric Chiha. The Terna audience prize was split between Mustang, directed by Kasia Smutniak, and Congo Boy.

Pierobon's acceptance

Pierobon plays Alberto Fumagalli, the owner of twelve petrol stations who draws a debt-ridden gunsmith, Giorgio Farina, played by Fausto Russo Alesi, into an embezzlement scheme. The actor said the story is loosely based on a true story. Accepting the award on stage, he said he was honoured by the prize for a film from a very small production house.

“I am very honoured by this award for a film that comes from a very small production company.”

He dedicated the prize to Marina Rocco and to Russo Alesi, his scene partner. Pierobon also joked that his character would want Brianza released, since the film still lacks a distributor.

Piedmont's five awards

According to ANSA, Piedmontese cinema won five awards across the Rome festival and Alice nella Città, with three films backed by Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Piemonte Film TV Fund. Brianza, produced by the Turin company Indyca, was shot in Turin and other Piedmontese municipalities. Figli perduti, directed by Lorenzo Maria Chierici, won the audience prize in the Panorama Italia section, and the Unita Under 35 prize went to Matteo Oscar Giuggioli. Pierluca Di Pasquale's Le ragazzine stanno perdendo il controllo. Il mondo le teme. La fine è azzurra received a special mention for direction and was filmed entirely in Turin in summer 2025. Regional assessors Marina Chiarelli and Andrea Tronzano tied the awards to earlier successes in Venice, and Film Commission Torino Piemonte credited its funding model.

Festival scale and Alice nella Città

Festival president Salvatore Nastasi reported 120,000 spectators and said the event had reached its maximum extent. Over 13 days the festival screened 194 films. Nastasi also rejected the view that there were too many films.

“It is not true that there are too many films, because the audience is there and it includes foreigners.”

Alice nella Città, the parallel section for young audiences, brought nearly 12,000 students from primary and secondary schools into cinemas. Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that Everytime by Sandra Wollner won the top prize at Alice nella Città, and that Germany selected it as its entry for the next Oscars.