A new festival on the circuit promoting Peace : Hallelujah
Film Festival 2025 thank you Pascal Vicedomini
Cinema for Peace from December 6 to 13 in Castel Gandolfo
Liliana Cavani, Noa, Vince Riotta, Phil Palmer and Cristiana Capotondi – together with Andrea Griminelli, Andrea Morricone, Marco Leonardi, Maria Pia Calzone, Lina Sastri and Marco Pontecorvo – will be among the guests of the Hallelujah Film Festival, taking place in Castel Gandolfo from December 6 to 13, 2025. This first edition inaugurates a new international event dedicated to cinema as a tool for dialogue, reflection and the building of peace. Founded by Pascal Vicedomini (who brought us festivals in Capri, Ischia and LA) promoted by the non-profit association The Artists Club Italia, the festival will offer a week of screenings, discussions and testimonies hosted in symbolic venues throughout the area: the Centro Mariapoli, the Borgo Laudato Si’, the Paolo VI School, the Church of San Tommaso da Villanova, and the Council Hall of the Municipality of Albano Laziale.
The Festival will open with La casa di Ninetta, the film in which Lina Sastri pays tribute to her mother, with music by Adriano Pennino. Both artists will also be present for a special performance in the crypt of the Church of Castel Gandolfo.
On Sunday, December 7, the Festival will honor the immortal music of Ennio Morricone with a screening of The Mission by Roland Joffé, a masterpiece that has left an indelible mark on cinema history. On this occasion, two special awards will be presented to Andrea Morricone and flutist Andrea Griminelli, among the leading ambassadors of the Maestro’s work in the world.
Among the most anticipated events, Monday, December 8 will be dedicated to Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, a symbol of the salvific power of love and imagination even in the darkest times. During the evening, singer Noa – performer of the Oscar-winning Beautiful That Way, composed by Nicola Piovani – will receive a special award.
A fascinating coincidence accompanies this date: the anticipation for the major TV event Benigni Pietro, airing Wednesday on Rai 1, which further amplifies the cultural and spiritual significance at the heart of the Hallelujah Film Festival.
The program continues with films that address, with sensitivity and courage, key humanitarian themes of our time. These include Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone, an intense portrayal of the migrant tragedy, and I Only Wanted to Live by Mimmo Calopresti, a docufilm preserving precious testimonies of Holocaust survivors.
The Festival will also highlight major masters of Italian cinema:
– Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore, presented by Marco Leonardi, star of the Oscar-winning classic;
– Dante by Pupi Avati, a poetic journey into the life and work of the Supreme Poet;
– Fatima by Marco Pontecorvo, which revisits the famous Marian apparition with cinematic sensitivity.
Gianfranco Rosi will also participate with The Voyages of Pope Francis, a work that deeply explores the relationship between humanity, faith and global fragility.
The Festival’s Official Selection will feature a curated lineup of films from around the world, chosen from more than 300 submissions submitted through the international platform FilmFreeway.
Among the distinguished guests are filmmaker Liliana Cavani, present with her restored film Francesco (recently remastered by Luce-Cinecittà), and Cristiana Capotondi, who will introduce a special presentation of Chiara Lubich – Love Conquers All. On Friday, December 12, an exclusive performance by the Vatican Gendarmerie Band will accompany the awards ceremony.
The Festival will also host meetings with cultural and media figures committed to the promotion of peace worldwide, as well as an interreligious gathering in the Council Hall of Albano Laziale, reaffirming the universal value of dialogue among different faiths and traditions.
The first edition of the Hallelujah Film Festival (
www.hallelujahfilmfestival.com) will be officially presented on Thursday, December 4 in Rome, at the Church of the Artists.
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