Festival dates: March 28 - April 5, 2025

The 2025 theme "IDENTITY: the memory that nourishes the future"

The theme IDENTITY: memory that nourishes the future at the Lugano Film Festival 2025 is addressed through a multiplicity of films that investigate the role of memory in life, society, culture and art as the foundation of the concept of identity, with the indispensable corollary of inclusion.
Living stories of characters, scientists, artists committed to recovering lost testimonies, forgotten events, collective memories rooted in the culture, mentality, language, arts of a community or a people.
And also an investigation into manipulated memories, into speculations regarding lost memory and into views proposed as a possible future, through an adulterated memory.

IDENTITY: Memory that nourishes the future represents an opportunity to examine how history shapes identity and preserves the memory of our past. It is identity that determines the present and builds what we call the future, with the vital complement of inclusion. If nothing else, in the hope of avoiding the repetition of mistakes and tragedies already committed.

The 2025 theme IDENTITY: the memory that nourishes the future at the Lugano Film Festival also implies an exploration of the unknown territories of artificial intelligence, where the colossal mass of memory and lightning speed are fundamental for the development and progress of this technology and above all so that its outcomes are effective, unprecedented, innovative and advanced in a continuous learning process, where the absence of a coherent memory or the manipulation of memory.

PREMI/Awards
• per il Miglior film OtherMovie Lugano Film Festival
(Cash Award Value 600 Swiss Francs)
• per il Miglior regia [S]GUARDO DA VICINO
(1st Place: Cash Award Value 500 Swiss Francs )

Competition regulations
Registration for the compulsory competition via the platform: https://filmfreeway.com/submissions. We may also accept digital files transferred via We transfer (or other digital sending methods). Request by email: info@othermovie.ch

Without any compensation, with all the material, except for the indication of the authors. The organization will be able to advertise through the press, radio, TV, web, targeted posters, blow-ups, etc.... those works which, in the opinion of the artistic direction, meet the appropriate requirements for a public tender and have nothing to expect as far as described above.
For promotional reasons, the winning films are offered to the public still present in the Spin-Offs during the year, without any profit.
The works will be part of the festival.

“Closer Look” short film competition and 30' Maximum duration of the competition. Another section and indefinite duration.
For the best animated short film, short films must last less than 15 minutes and be produced no earlier than 24 months before their submission to the competition.

The contents of the works presented in the competition must comply with current legislation on copyright. The management of the Altro Film Festival declines any responsibility in this regard.

Participation in the competition implies the author's exclusive personal responsibility for any irregularities in this area. The Artistic Direction reserves the right to exclude from the competition at its sole discretion. Information on the selected films, in addition to the filmfreeway platform, is published exclusively on your official website under the Competitions section (CONCORSI)..

Who we are
We are a non-profit working group promoting, from Lugano and right across the Italian part of Switzerland, the art of film making in its multifarious nuances and components.
OtherMovie Lugano Film Festival aims to act as a cultural bridge between East and West whilst lending visibility to quality art house cinema.

Why OtherMovie?
The choice of calling it “OtherMovie” reflects the desire to offer its audience a “different” film festival from what is currently on offer in festivals across Ticino and the rest of Switzerland.
The name “OtherMovie” is the final act which lends visibility to a more structured concept that shifts the perspective from where to view the festival.
“Other/Different” because , while the festival is indeed an window on movies, it wishes to use first of all this noble art to discuss and publicize current issues that touch - across a broad spectrum upon our society, times and every culture.

What makes OtherMovie
OtherMovie is:
• An intercultural platform where different cultures meet.
• An’“Agora” (i.e. a meeting place) where current affairs are discussed.
• A lab where movies open up towards other art forms thereby finding the ideal dimension in which to express their own interpretation of current affairs.
• A network of artists and experts who come together in order to reach a greater and better understanding of our society.
• A socially-engaged cultural operator who builds bridges: between East and West, North and South. In our view, art unites different worlds.

The OtherMovie format
OtherMovie’s format defines its very essence:
• The yearly choice of a current affairs theme around which the entire list of events is developed.
• Movies, talks, workshops, concerts, photo exhibitions, performance art and other are scheduled on the basis of the theme of each edition.
• Co-operation with local and international artists, experts and cultural operators.
• Presentation of related events during the year in conjunction with other cultural operators and partners.

The themes so far:
In its first five editions, OtherMovie has put forward the following themes:
2012: “Zero” edition, with disability issues as its main topic
2013: Childhood and Adolescence
2014: Art and Femininity
2015: Freedom of Being
2016: Transitions and Migrations
2017: Violence (un)veiled
2018: EconomicaMente"
2019: "Quo Vadis Familia"
2020: Ecology | Sustainability | Climate
2021: Past and Future: «Sculpting in Time»
2022: Symbols, Cultures and Society
2023 RESILIENZA: L'ARTE DELLA RESISTENZA

The editions so far: facts and numbers
OtherMovie has managed to grow over the first five editions and gain the respect of film lovers thanks to its themes, the wide range of movies shown and the events it has organized. Here are some significant numbers that mark its success:
• Overall number of spectators per edition: 1000
• Overall number of movies shown per edition: 80 (feature films, shorts and documentary films)
• Overall number of participating countries per edition: 27
• Overall number of festival partners per edition: 10 (Swiss and international).
OtherMovie and the media
OtherMovie has its own website www.othermovie.ch and may be found on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Furthermore, throughout the year OtherMovie gets visibility on the local and international press with various articles, interviews and in advertorials.
We are also active across Ticino all year round by offering our own ‘spin-off’ events or working in conjunction with other local associations. We get radio space too, particularly during the festival which is covered by local radio stations as well as by the state one (RSI – Radiotelevisione svizzera).

For further information, please see : www.othermovie.ch , or email us at: info@othermovie.ch

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Alessandra Pescetta

    Ringraziamo di cuore per averci onorato con una MENZIONE SPECIALE per il film '100 Preludi'. OtherMovie è un vero gioiello nel mondo del cinema indipendente, e conferma il suo status di punto di riferimento per gli amanti del cinema di qualità. Il festival si distingue per il suo impegno nel valorizzare il cinema, evidenziando una profonda attenzione verso la creazione di sinergie significative. Oltre a celebrare il talento cinematografico, si impegna attivamente a promuovere la collaborazione e lo scambio di idee tra cineasti e spettatori. È un evento che non solo presenta film di alta qualità, ma anche incoraggia la crescita e l'ispirazione all'interno della comunità cinematografica. Gli spettatori beneficiano di dibattiti e approfondimenti significativi, arricchendo ulteriormente l'esperienza. Inoltre, l'ospitalità straordinaria e rende davvero indimenticabile ogni momento trascorso al festival.

    May 2024
  • FRANCESCO TESTI

    High quality festival. I look forward to submit my next project.

    April 2024
  • Goran Šporčić

    I am happy to be in official selection. Great festival, friendly team and nice films !!! thanks

    April 2024
  • Vincenzo Palazzo

    Ringrazio l'organizzazione e tutto lo staff, un Festival attento al cinema indipendente e soprattutto alle tematiche sociali. Sono contento di aver partecipato con "L'ultimo saluto".
    Grazie e a presto

    July 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Caro Vincenzo grazie a te , speriamo di vederci ad una edizione del Festival.
    Buon estate

  • E poi arriva Menny

    I am very happy that our short "E poi arriva Menny" was among the finalists of this festival. I thank the organizers for selecting us. thank you very much

    June 2022