The ST. ALi Italian Film Festival 2026, presented by Palace, is the largest festival of Italian cinema in the world. Showcasing an incredible selection of new Italian cinema celebrating the country’s language stories and culture, the festival includes works from contemporary Italian auteurs, documentaries, comedies, and the premiere of a new Australian-Italian co production. The festival is screening at Palace Byron Bay and Ballina Fair Cinemas from 17 September to 14 October.
Festival highlights include the box-office hit romantic comedy from Pierfrancesco ‘Pif’ Diliberto Holy Cannoli (Che Dio perdona a tutti), set in Palermo, this is a story of love, faith and delicious pastries. It follows Arturo, a successful real estate agent (played by Pif), with a passion for desserts, who falls for a charming, devoutly Catholic pastry chef, Flora.
In another Italian box-office smash romcom, Separate Beds, Edoardo Leo stars as Valerio, a strict school principal who leads a conventional, yet disciplined life, who crosses paths with the free-spirited, independent and unconventional Alessandra.
This year’s Festival centrepiece is the highly awarded Sweetheart (Gioia mia). This enchanting drama follows a young boy, Nico, who is sent to spend a summer in Sicily with his elderly aunt, played by beloved Italian actor Aurora Quattrocchi.
Australian-Italian co-produced documentary Sand Roads follows three young Australian men as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a 50,000 km quad bike journey across three continents to break a Guinness World Record, but tragedy befalls their group.
Two not to be missed fashion documentaries also feature – Armani And The Birth Of Italian Fashion and Brunello, The Gracious Visionary (Brunello, il visionario garbato). The former traces the rise of Italy’s style empires through the story of the legendary families that have been ruling it for decades and features the final on-screen interview of Giorgio Armani plus interviews with Tom Ford, Sharon Stone, Helen Mirren and Samuel L. Jackson. The latter is from award-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore and chronicles the life and philosophy of fashion luminary Brunello Cucinelli, from his humble origins in rural Perugia to the heights of success and a billion-dollar fashion empire.
To find out more about this fabulous festival, visit: palacecinemas.com.au
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