Here is the list of films in the International Competition, from 6 to 8 November 2025, at the Margherita Multisala!

Thursday 6/11, 8.30 p.m. – Margherita Multisala, Acireale

Headache, Paria Shojaeian, IR, 2025, 15′

Théâtre de Guerre, A. Lecocq, G. Delcroix, A. Delcroix, R. Gouriou, J. Vanas, C. Delehaye, N. Ivelou, FR, 2024, 6 min.

Fliwer, Maxim Kulkov, RU, 2024, 16 min.

Choice, Marko Crnogorski, MK, 2025, 17′

Eksi Bir, Ömer Ferhat Özmen, TR, 2024, 15’

Profitable place, Alex Maximov, BY, 2025, 5’

Lui, Matthias Couquet, FR, 2024, 10’

Die letzte Wette, Meike Wüstenberg, AT, 2024, 14’

Why did you leave the horse alone?, Faouzi Bensaïdi, FR/ MA, 2024, 15’

Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, Chheangkea, KHM/FR/USA, 2025, 19’

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Friday 7/11, 8.30 p.m. – Margherita Multisala, Acireale

The Rotary Press, Iratxe Fresneda, ES, 2024, 8′

La Banda, Delia Márquez Sánchez & Leonor Jiménez, ES, 2024, 17’

Rabibocher, Benoît Martin, FR, 2024, 18’

Off-Time, Nata Metlukh, USA/JP/UK, 2025, 10’

Bis Montag, Dominik Gasser & Emma Lou Paleit, DE, 2023, 15′

Les Imatges arribaren a temps, Jaume Carrió, ES, 2024, 6′

Periquitos, Alex Rey, ES, 2024, 6′

The Eggregores’ Theory, Andrea Gatopoulos, IT, 2024, 15’

The one who knows, Eglė Davidavičė, LT / FR, 2024, 12’

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Saturday 8/11, 8.30 p.m. – Margherita Multisala, Acireale

Sunday Evening, Matteo Tortone, IT/FR, 2024, 16’

Paper Dream, Laura Boráros, CZ, 2024, 4’

Ryan can’t read, Rhys Chapman, UK, 2024, 19’

Bitter Chocolate, Sahar Sotoodeh, DE/IR, 2024, 20’

As usual, the Festival’s international competition will be preceded by Insula – Impressioni di Sicilia, the section dedicated to short films by Sicilian directors or set in Sicily. This year, the event is scheduled on Tuesday, 4 November, in Catania. The five short films in the programme will be presented by directors and members of the technical cast.

Αἴtνη, Leo Marletta | IT, 2025, 15′

The deep bond between humanity and nature is interpreted through the universal theme of motherhood, narrated through the eyes of Etna and the voice of the author’s mother. Etna thus becomes a symbol of healing and strength, but also of transformation and detachment.

Appunti sugli uomini , Chiara Guastella | IT, 2025, 12′

How many of our daily actions do we ask ourselves the real reason? Especially if you are male, and if your appearance is taken as so neutral that it does not represent a disguise, but a simple inevitability of things. A female gaze invites men to ask themselves these whys.

Samsa, Gianpiero Pumo | IT, 2025, 15′

Nasìr has the chance to realize his big dream and be admitted to a prestigious cooking school. To do so he will have to cook the most important dish of his life. A dish that, behind a recipe, tells a story.

The End, Simone La Rosa | IT, 2024, 7′

As a volcanic eruption threatens to obliterate an entire island, a woman chooses to spend her last day on earth digging her own grave. An unexpected encounter changes her destiny, forcing her to reconsider the meaning of life and death.

Worms, Domenico Distilo | IT/DE, 2024, 19′

Twelve-year-old Rosi shoulders the weight of her fractured family after her father’s abandonment. Living with her two younger sisters, Emy and Mary, and their mother, who has spiraled into a deep depression, Rosi juggles household responsibilities, cares for her sisters, and faces bullying from local children who cruelly mimic the harshness of the adult world around them.

The partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania led to the creation of Eksperimenta in 2022, a section dedicated to video art and experimental cinema that aims to revive the role of audiovisual research and experimentation among the Academy’s students, but also to familiarise them with the creative, production and distribution processes of the festival circuit.

Atlas, Roberto Salvaggio | IT, 2024, 8’

Images of growth and destruction intertwine in a visual narrative that tells of humanity’s self-destruction and its near-inevitable extinction. But in the end, nature regains control: the fury of volcanoes closes the cycle and brings everything back to its origins.

Circumcision, Derya Durmaz |DE – TR, 2022, 2’

The people we can meet on dating apps, the things we can do with them. We are through with the issue of gender inequality. It is a problem of the East, of the global South, right?

Cresce l’erba tra i binari, Francesco Felice Scuderi | IT, 2025, 2’

In a rural landscape, a flower and an olive tree exchange words filled with hope and resignation. The fragile flower feels alienated from a world it sees crumbling. The olive tree, a witness to bygone eras, reassures it with its wisdom.

Night Sky Elevator, Csanád Baksa-Soós | HU, 2024, 9’

A self-observation experiment, made with a conscious abandonment of premeditation in favour of an intuitive method of development. We travel through free-flowing thoughts and emotional states, paralleling the world that is happening inside and around us.

Saarvocado, Victor Orozco Ramirez | DE – MX, 2024, 8’

I live in Saarland, Germany. The place is surrounded by forests and I find it very beautiful and exotic. Almost like a Bob Ross painting. But while hiking I came across a bunker and realized that there were beasts lurking behind the happy trees. 

Ti verrà dietro la città, Salvatore Insana | IT, 2024, 7’

Planes overlap. Times are subtracted. Spaces are lost. Colors intersect. Buildings crash. The senses clash on the frantic tracks of the commuter condemned to his transfigured, horizontal metropolitan hell.

Wasting, Sinking, Dazzling, Floating, Chanmin Kim | DE, 2023, 11’

I am now located in the time and space between dreams and reality. Perhaps I fell asleep or almost fell asleep at some point. But still I blink and stare at something or am stared at by something. Between the noise, the leaking light, and my perceptions, I am wasting, sinking, dazzling and floating.​

Student Experimentations:

“Twice Her” is an experimental project inspired by Capgras Syndrome and based on the ability to see and hear the same images and sounds that can tell the same story, in many possible contradictory hypotheses. 13 groups of Video Art students created 13 versions of the same story, blending documentary, fiction, essay film, and abstract cinema in varying proportions. The project is coordinated by Prof. Alessandro Aiello within the Video Art course.

DUE VOLTE LEI #1 (07:16)

Silvia di Paola, Francesco Petriglieri, Chiara Monteleone, Carmelo Castrogiovanni,

Matteo di Buono.

DUE VOLTE LEI #2 (03:49)

Enrico Papa.

DUE VOLTE LEI #3 (05:12)

Andrea Antoci, Sara Passalacqua.

DUE VOLTE LEI #4 (07:03)

Elena Romano, Karen del Valle, Giulio Belvedere, Miriam Qassem.

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The major international guest of this edition is Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl. His presence is the result of a collaborative effort with Documentaria, the documentary film festival held in Noto. Winner of the Silver Lion at the 58th Venice International Film Festival, Seidl moves seamlessly between fiction and documentary, bringing to the screen the deepest impulses of the human soul and offering an often unsparing portrait of our society.

He first takes part in a masterclass at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania, and later introduces, at the Cinema King, the screening of his most acclaimed film, Dog Days.

Ulrich Seidl started his career in 1990 with award-winning documentaries. His first feature fiction film, Dog Days (2001), won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Encouraged by this success, he and Veronika Franz founded Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion in 2003 not only to produce their own films, but also to provide production conditions for filmmakers that were different from those offered by conventional production companies. Since then, Ulrich Seidl has produced his own films, such as Import Export, premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2007, the award-winning film trilogy Paradise (2012), the essay film In The Basement (2014) and Safari (2016). Rimini had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2022. Sparta, the second part of the diptych, was presented in the main competition in 2022, at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2022. The combined version Wicked Games – Rimini Sparta premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (2023).

LORENZO VECCHIO AWARD
Dedicated to the creator of Magma – who passed away at the age of twenty-three after directing the first three editions of the festival – the Lorenzo Vecchio Award, assigned by the jury to the best short film in the International Competition, consists of a cash prize and an ornamental plate, created for the occasion by Ceramiche De Simone.

AUDIENCE AWARD
Viewers of the International Competition can vote for the films using special voting cards available online at the beginning of each evening and have a say in choosing the winner.

SPECIAL MENTIONS
The Magma jury may also award special mentions to short films in competition that stand out for their artistic and technical qualities.

INSULA AWARD
Now in its seventh edition, the Insula Award will be presented to the best Sicilian short film chosen by the audience on Tuesday 4 November.

ISOLA AWARD
Isola Catania, a social enterprise based in Palazzo Biscari (a Baroque gem in the historic centre of Catania), awards a special prize to the short film that excels artistically and best represents its territory, promoting it beyond regional borders. The jury is composed of Ezio Costanzo (Fondazione Oelle), Nello Calabrò (Scenario Pubblico), Domitilla Musella (Junior Achievement), Armando Palma (Arcadia Holding), Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saieva (Farm Cultural Park), Antonio Perdichizzi and Claudia Cosentino (Isola Catania).

The jury for the Magma Shorts International Competition is composed of:

Selim Evci

In 2008, he wrote and directed his debut feature film Two Lines, which had its world premiere at the 65th Venice International Film Festival as part of the 23rd International Film Critics’ Week. His second feature, Winds, premiered at the 26th Panorama of European Cinema in Athens, followed by Secret, which made its world premiere at the 39th Montreal World Film Festival in 2015. His fourth feature, While Time Flows, premiered in 2024 at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, with Evci also appearing in the lead role. He also founded the Akbank Short Film Festival in 2004 and served as its director for 21 editions.

Jane Alexander

An Italian-British actress and television presenter, Jane Alexander is a multifaceted figure in the Italian entertainment scene. She began working at the age of ten as a voice actor, later becoming a model, and made her film debut in 1993 with Le donne non vogliono più by Pino Quartullo. She went on to collaborate with acclaimed directors such as Giuseppe Tornatore (The Star Maker, 1995) and Roberto Faenza (The Soul Keeper, 2005; Anita B., 2014). She has appeared in several successful TV series, including Elisa di Rivombrosa, Boris, Rocco Schiavone, and many others, building a versatile artistic career that crosses genres and media — from stage acting to television hosting, as well as radio and music video performances. Her most recent stage appearance is in Nicasio Anzelmo’s production of Uno, nessuno e centomila.

Gianluca Santoni

Director and screenwriter, from 2013 to 2015 he attended the directing course at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. He has won numerous awards in Italy and abroad with his short films, including Gionatan with a G — his graduation film, which earned him the Cinemaster Universal Award at the Nastri d’Argento 2017.

In the same year, he co-wrote the story for My Killer Buddy with screenwriter Michela Straniero, winning the Premio Solinas for Best Story.

In 2018 he wrote the short film Indimenticabile, which he directed in 2019 and which went on to receive numerous awards in Italy and worldwide. His first feature film My Killer Buddy premiered in competition at Alice nella città 2023 and was nominated for Best New Director at the David di Donatello Awards 2025.

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La giuria internazionale di Magma Debut:

Davide Del Degan

Giovanna Santaera

Pietro Parolin

Cinema-going among young people is a moment of fundamental importance for their cultural enrichment and personal growth: cinema stimulates imagination and curiosity, and is an extraordinary form of communication through which to convey values that are important for the educational path of young students.

Magma Youth is the section of the festival dedicated to young audiences: this year, in collaboration with the Department of Education of the Municipality of Acireale, headed by Valentina Pulvirenti, a comprehensive project involving local schools has been proposed. It is an educational programme for students that includes screenings, practical exercises and an event to showcase the work carried out.

MAGMA DEBUT, 16-20 June 2025

From the Arena Argentina to the King cinema in Catania. Two venues with a long history behind them to showcase films by directors who, on the other hand, have their whole history ahead of them. Magma Debut, the debut film festival, returns in 2025 for its fourth edition. From 16 to 20 June – first at the Argentina and then at the King – the summer spin-off of Magma – Mostra di cinema breve, the international short film festival that celebrates its 24th anniversary in 2025, will come to life.

Debut is Magma’s latest creation. The international competition dedicated to short films, which will take place as usual in November this year, has been joined by summer evenings. Five evenings in the capital of Etna, organised by the cultural association Scarti, during each of which a feature film, the director’s first, will be screened. Andrea Magnani, director, producer and screenwriter, has been confirmed as artistic director.

It begins on Monday 16 June at 9 p.m. at the Arena Argentina in Via Vanasco with Cherry Juice (90′, 2023) by Mersiha Husagic, who will be present in the theatre. This Bosnian-Herzegovinian production tells the story of Selma, a young Bosnian screenwriter who spends a night with German actor Niklas in post-war Sarajevo. On Tuesday 17, the time remains the same, but the venue changes: at 9 p.m., at the King cinema in Via De Curtis, the Ukrainian film “U are the Universe” (90′, 2024) by director Pavlo Ostrikov will be screened: space truck driver Andriy Melnyk transports nuclear waste on a cargo ship bound for Saturn’s abandoned moon, Callisto. The problem is that, while he is travelling, the Earth explodes. And Melnyk finds himself alone in space.

On Wednesday 18 June, at 9 p.m., at the King cinema, there will be a screening of the Greek film “Meat” (104′, 2024), by Dimitris Nakos, in collaboration with the Trieste Film Festival on tour 2025. A contemporary film inspired by tragedy: a patriarch must decide the fate of his son and a boy who grew up with him, but there is a murder in the way. On Thursday 19 June, it is the turn of the Somali-French film ‘The Village Next to Paradise’ (132′, 2024) by Mo Harawe: the film is set in the desert, where Mamargade is a single father who does odd jobs to give his son Cigaal a better life. When his sister Araweelo, recently divorced, returns to live with them, things change for everyone. 

On Friday 20 June, the film moves to the afternoon. At 6 p.m., again at the King in Catania, the last film in competition: “Piggy” (100′, 2022, Spain), by Carlota Pereda: Sara is a teenager who, at the most difficult time of her adolescence, is bullied at school, while no one in her family understands her. After yet another instance of abuse, she decides to fight back.

At the end of the screenings, the Debut 2025 award will be presented by the jury, composed of director Davide del Degan, professor Giovanna Santaera, and screenwriter and director Pietro Parolin. At the same time as Magma Debut, Isola Catania will also host the first Magma summer school, an intensive workshop dedicated to the development of screenplays for feature films: five emerging directors will arrive in Catania and, with the help of tutors and experts, will develop their own debut project in the form of a feature film.