Cinema, as we all well know, is meant to make us dream with our eyes wide open through unique and whimsical tales. But this year, the Italian narrative feels more like a ghost story. Much like spirits, Italian films are entirely invisible at the Cannes Film Festival. For the first time in 10 years, there’s literally not a single one in the running.
Now, not to indulge in the usual Italian self-pitying behavior, but they could have invited at least one Italian film to the festival, right? I can’t help but ask, however, if this is due to the French’s proverbial cultural arrogance or rather something far more embarrassing: the slow and painful decay of Italian cinema. Or more precisely, the slow and painful decay of the industry’s funding.
Who could have guessed that consistently sabotaging the Italian film industry would eventually have bad consequences? The government has steadily chipped away at the national cinema fund, slashing another €90 million in 2026 alone. The warning signs are everywhere: instability in tax credits, a system that favors Hollywood shoots at Cinecittà over Italian indie cinema, and a systemic refusal to clear space for younger generations (there’s a passion for dust here that’s almost pathological).
Think about it—Italy’s only real hope for Cannes this year was the latest movie by 72-year-old veteran Nanni Moretti (It Will Happen Tonight). That tells you everything you need to know, especially at a time when France is heavily pushing female directors born as recently as 1981.
But this says more about my own bitterness than reality itself: when there’s proper funding, there’s space for everyone, regardless of age and gender.
We saw the writing on the wall earlier this year in Berlin. Nearly 70% of Italian film productions have been paralyzed by the Ministry of Culture’s paused funding reform—the fallout of a freeze that started a year and a half ago, when bureaucratic delays in public grants choked the industry. Many productions were left awaiting their destiny, and I’ll let you guess how that turned out.
But fear not! Italians are at the festival! Besides the usual vitelloni, served at aperitivo along the Croisette, this year’s edition also features a whole parade of Italian actors: Monica Bellucci appears in Histoires de la Nuit, while Ornella Muti, Tea Falco, Isabella Ferrari, Maurizio Lombardi, and Franco Nero star in Roma Elastica by French director Bertrand Mandico.
Perhaps it’s not that France has forgotten us; it’s our cinema that can’t find itself anymore.
