THE APEX TIMES
Tiziana Rocca Prepares ‘Filming Italy Sardegna’ Set for June 25-28, After Taormina’s 72nd Edition
The Sicilian festival’s artistic director says the back-to-back schedule reflects differing priorities between Taormina and her next Sardinia event at Forte Village.
Tiziana Rocca, the artistic director of the Taormina Film Festival, is turning to her next project less than two weeks after the Sicilian event completed its 72nd edition. Rocca is now preparing Filming Italy Sardegna, a festival she founded nine years ago, which will run June 25-28 at Forte Village in Cagliari, on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Filming Italy Sardegna is scheduled to screen films during the four-day run, with Rocca positioned as the central creative lead as the festival shifts from Sicily to the coast of southern Sardinia. The event’s timing, following Taormina’s conclusion, places Rocca on a rapid turnaround with minimal downtime between two major Italian cultural calendars.
Rocca described the two festivals as distinct in their editorial intent, saying they are “very different festivals with very different focuses.” The comments underscore that the programming direction, while both rooted in Italian and regional film culture, is designed to serve different artistic objectives rather than repeating the same format back to back.
The Taormina Film Festival’s completion of its 72nd edition set the immediate backdrop for the transition, with Rocca working through what Deadline characterized as a tight scheduling window. In the same reporting, Deadline noted that Rocca’s Sardinia event is taking place on another “picturesque” island setting, reinforcing the geographical shift as a key feature of the period.
Filming Italy Sardegna at Forte Village in Cagliari will therefore represent not only Rocca’s next installment as a festival leader but also a test of how a cultural program adapts to different regional contexts and audience expectations across two consecutive Italian summer events.
Deadline reported that Filming Italy Sardegna begins June 25 and continues through June 28, with the festival’s screenings planned for that date range at the Forte Village venue. The article indicates Rocca will oversee the festival’s artistic steering as it opens, following the conclusion of Taormina.
As Filming Italy Sardegna gets underway next week, the key question for attendees and film industry participants is how the festival’s stated differences in focus will shape what is shown, what kinds of projects are emphasized, and how the event positions itself within Italy’s summer festival circuit immediately after Taormina’s run ends.
Why It Matters
- The back-to-back festival schedule highlights how Italian film programming leadership manages short planning windows during peak summer cultural calendars.
- Filming Italy Sardegna’s June 25-28 start date affects filmmakers, media partners, and audiences timing around Taormina’s end.
- The festival’s shift from Sicily to Sardinia is likely to influence presentation and audience reach within different regional communities.
- Rocca’s stated emphasis on distinct festival focus provides a framework for understanding how the programming may differ across the two events.
- The Forte Village venue and the four-day screening window set concrete logistics for participants preparing for the next screening slate.
Key Facts
- Tiziana Rocca, artistic director of the Taormina Film Festival, is preparing Filming Italy Sardegna less than two weeks after Taormina’s 72nd edition wrapped.
- Filming Italy Sardegna runs June 25-28.
- The festival is set to screen films at Forte Village in Cagliari, Sardinia.
- Rocca founded Filming Italy Sardegna nine years ago.
- Rocca said the two festivals are “very different festivals with very different focuses.”