The Call for Films for Mente Locale Young is officially open, with submissions accepted until 30 January 2026. The initiative invites students from all Italian schools—of every level—to submit their audiovisual works. Entries can be uploaded for free via FilmFreeway, or submitted by completing the official Entry Form available on the Mente Locale – Visioni sul territorio website. Each submission must include a viewing link (active until 31 May 2026), the signed form, and two still images from the film, to be emailed to mentelocaleyoung@gmail.com
.
By the same deadline, students from lower and upper secondary schools may apply to join the Young Jury, which will collaborate with the professional jury in evaluating the competing films. Beginning in February, jury members will participate in an online film education and criticism programme (12 hours total) led by industry experts Roy Menarini, Riccardo Palladino, Simone Cangelosi, and Marco Neri.
Teachers may also register for a free online workshop on cinematic language (6 hours maximum, between March and April 2026), designed to provide tools to support students in creating and analysing the films in competition.
The fourth edition of Mente Locale Young – Italian Schools Tell the Territory will take place from 7 to 9 May 2026 in Bologna, Florence and Sassari. Launched in 2021 as a spin-off of Mente Locale – the first Italian festival entirely dedicated to films about places and local identities – the initiative invites students to narrate the territories they inhabit, offering a unique portrait of how younger generations perceive landscapes, communities, challenges and hopes.
The project is part of the National Plan Cinema and Images for Schools, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Merit, and is organised by CARTA|BIANCA APS in collaboration with a wide network of cultural, academic and institutional partners.
Photo credits: PxHere
