Rome Film Festival 2026: From Jenna Ortega to Kim Kardashian, Here's Who's Walking the Red Carpet

The Rome Film Festival returns for its 21st edition: the event runs from October 13 to 25, hosted at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone. As announced by Salvatore Nastasi, president of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, the goal is to surpass the 100,000 attendees from the previous edition.

The international stars' red carpet

According to reports from ANSA and Corriere della Sera, major names from world cinema will parade on the red carpet: Jenna Ortega, expected for Taika Waititi's "Klara and the Sun", Julianne Moore and Jesse Eisenberg for "The Debut" (with Paul Giamatti), Naomi Watts and Kim Kardashian for the second season of "All's Fair" (alongside Niecy Nash-Betts and Sarah Paulson). Also expected are Sandra Huller, Paul Bettany for the Marvel series "Vision Quest", Deva Cassel for the world premiere of "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra", Tim Roth for "Me, You" (based on Erri De Luca's novel), Louis Garrel, Camille Cottin and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Career Award for Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem will receive the Career Award from the hands of Paolo Sorrentino, presenting Rodrigo Sorogoyen's "El ser querido". Other honors go to producer Tessa Ross and composer Nicola Piovani. Susan Sarandon will arrive instead to receive the Womenlands Excellence Award.

The Italian opening

The festival opens with an Italian title: Paolo Genovese's "Il rumore delle cose nuove", starring Emanuela Fanelli, Claudia Pandolfi, Vittoria Puccini and Stefano Accorsi. As emphasized by Nastasi, this is a deliberate choice to highlight Italian cinema.

Also on the program are 18 films in the Progressive Cinema International Competition, including three Italian titles, and documentaries dedicated to Jovanotti, Gialappa's Band and the latest Fellini. Among guests from sports and music are also Daniele De Rossi and Federica Brignone.