In “Il racconto dei festival: storia, archivi, fonti, memorie”, Bologna, 17 December 2024.

This paper aims to present the preliminary results of research conducted by the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” unit within the PRIN RIFF project – Reframing Italian Film Festivals: Histories, Politics, Cultures, with particular attention to the case study offered by the Incontri Internazionali del Cinema in Sorrento. Founded in 1963 and revitalized in 1966 under the artistic direction of Gian Luigi Rondi, the festival distinguished itself in the Italian landscape through its innovative monographic format, dedicated each year to a different national cinema, establishing itself as a central venue for intercultural dialogue and the experimentation of new festival dynamics.

The research largely relies on the analysis of the Gian Luigi Rondi Archive, held at the Cineteca Lucana, which includes documents, catalogues, correspondence, photographs, and press materials, currently undergoing a process of digitization and cataloguing initiated by the RIFF project. Complementing these sources is a collection of interviews and oral testimonies from key figures and witnesses of the period, which helps to provide subjective perspectives and to fill potential gaps in the documentary record.

The aim of this contribution is twofold: on one hand, in line with the scientific objectives of the project, it seeks to address the gap in festival studies in Italy, where, despite their long-standing tradition, such events are still too often treated as isolated or marginal cases; on the other hand, it proposes a methodological approach that intertwines material sources, oral history, and digital tools, offering a perspective capable of highlighting the role and specificities of the case study.

Ultimately, the study aims to provide new interpretative frameworks for understanding film festivals as transnational networks of cultural production and identity negotiation, designating the Incontri di Sorrento, through a historical-cultural lens and archival research, as a privileged object of analysis.