A film tourism itinerary following the trail of the film The Island of the Fish Men and a workshop looking to the cinema of the future: the first weekend of Cinema delle Terre del Mare unfolds along two distinct paths, kicking off its fourteenth edition on Saturday, July 4th in Alghero. Organized by the Società umanita di Alghero, with artistic direction by Alessandra Sento, the festival, which runs until July 13th, will combine a passion for cinema and a rediscovery of the local area through screenings, meetings, excursions, and performances. The opening day on Saturday kicks off at 6:30 pm with an unmissable event: the rediscovery of the evocative natural settings used in 1978 by Sergio Martino for his cult film The Island of the Fish Men.
The tour, curated by Nadia Rondello and Marta Berretta, will depart from the port of Alghero. Aboard the motor vessel Neptunus, you'll arrive at Neptune's Grotto, where most of the film's scenes were shot. Through anecdotes, stories, secrets, and mysteries, the connection between an illustrious past cinematic production and the Riviera del Corallo will be revealed.
In addition, on Thursday, July 9th, the festival will also offer an urban itinerary, curated by Nadia Rondello and Maria Cau: a walking tour inside and outside the city walls, through the locations that served as backdrops for major films in the 1960s and 1970s and hosted the International Film Festival. For information and reservations: +39 334 9181591 or alghero@umanitaria.it.
Sunday the 5th kicks off at 10:00 a.m. with a workshop for filmmakers, "New Algorithm Cinema." Led by Mateusz Miroslaw Lis, a film producer (his work includes The Diary of Sisyphus, the world's first feature-length film written by AI) and an AI consultant for audiovisual media, the event will focus on cutting-edge technologies that, from pre-production to post-production, are changing the way we tell stories. Miroslaw Lis will also be a guest at the festival in the afternoon, presenting his short film, "The Consumer" (Italy, 2026), at 6:00 p.m. in the Lo Quarter conference room. It's the story of a forgotten painter who lives in isolation and has been eating his paintings piece by piece for years. At 6:30 p.m., the day continues with the first film in the "Immersioni" section, which features works nominated for the Audience Award. The screening will include "Cosa resta quando il mare si muove" by Gaetano Crivaro (Italy, 2026), a reflection on what remains in Sardinia when, after summer, the beaches empty. The film won the Award for Best Cinematic Innovation at the 2026 Bellaria Film Festival. At 8:30 pm, the Diving section, dedicated to children, opens at the Lido di San Giovanni. It begins with Giocacinema, a fun activity about cinema and the sea (for reservations, contact ichnuasd@gmail.com), and continues at 9:30 pm with the regional premiere screening of "I racconti del giardino incantato" by David Sùkup, Jean–Claude Rozec, Leon Vidmar, and Patrik Pašš. Distributed by Trent Film, this work won the ECFA Special Award at the 2025 Giffoni Film Festival.
