The conference “Striking at the Heart. The Power of Stories and Debuts” took place in Rome at CasaDante, marking a key moment in the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Premio Solinas, alongside the ceremony for the 2025 Franco Solinas International Award for Best Screenplay for Cinema.
Opening the event, Annamaria Granatello, President and Director of the Premio Solinas, described the anniversary as a journey through contemporary Italian cinema, revisiting some of the most iconic films awarded over the years. “For 40 years, the Solinas Award has invested in new voices, first works and the future of cinema,” she said.
The 2025 Franco Solinas International Award, worth €9,000, was awarded ex aequo to Furore, written by Federico Amenta and Paoli De Luca, and The Volcano Never Really Erupts, by Raffaele Iaccarino and Vittorio Perrucci. Both projects were praised for their strong narrative vision, originality and cinematic ambition.
The awards were presented by Paolo Sorrentino, who also received the Special 40th Anniversary Franco Solinas Award. The Academy Award–winning director, who won the Premio Solinas in 1999 with One Man Up, recalled the crucial role the Award played in his artistic development.
The second-phase jury, composed of Giulia Calenda, Edoardo De Angelis, Nicola Giuliano, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Laura Paolucci, Federico Pedroni and Federico Pontiggia, highlighted the exceptionally high quality of all eight finalist projects. Furore also received the Claudia Sbarigia Scholarship (€1,000) for its powerful and courageous portrayal of the female universe.
The conference concluded with a proposal by playwright, screenwriter and director Roberto Scarpetti, who suggested significantly limiting the use of artificial intelligence in screenplays submitted to the 2026 Premio Solinas call.
Supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture – Directorate-General for Cinema and Audiovisual, the Lazio Region and several institutional and industry partners, the event brought together more than 200 professionals from across the film sector, reaffirming the Premio Solinas as one of Italy’s most important platforms for discovering and supporting emerging cinematic talent.
