“URBAN VISIONS. Beyond the Ideal City” is an independent film festival promoted by City Space Architecture since 2020. It is the first Italian competition for short films entirely dedicated to the contemporary city and to urban public life, aimed at exploring urban humanities through an interdisciplinary approach.
“URBAN VISIONS. Beyond the Ideal City” is interested in collecting narratives of different realities, to investigate cities’ connections, intersections and activities while focusing on the public realm, where public aspects, related to participation, sharing and social practices, blend with private aspirations, related to individuality, diversity and lifestyles. Urban Visions intends to collect stories of happiness or poverty, success or solitude, compliance or rebellion, beyond the seducing and reassuring shapes of the beautiful, ideal city. Beyond stereotypes and familiar images of consumerism, Urban Visions seeks what our eyes, deliberately or unconsciously, may not notice.
Curatorial team (2026)
Luisa Bravo, Founder and Director
Kateryna Novikova, Cultural Programming
Simona Starkute, Communications and Engagement
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The 2026 edition will take place in Bologna at Museo Spazio Pubblico, the headquarters of City Space Architecture, on 26-28 November and will also host a special event and screenings out-of-competition on 2-5 December.
Some other activities of the Festival, including the Award Ceremony, will take place in a hybrid format.
This edition has 39 international short films in competition.
Participants attending in person can vote for the Audience Award.
AWARDS for Best Short Films
Category: Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City
1st prize – € 400 in cash
2nd prize – € 250 in cash
3rd prize – € 100 in cash
Several honourable mentions with certificate of excellence
Audience Award
Exhibition “Lost [in] Space”
Exhibition initiated by Kateryna Novikova.
Cinemas are more than just businesses. They are cultural spaces, social rituals, and places where people come together. Beyond watching films, cinemas create opportunities for connection, shared experiences, and a sense of belonging within a city.
Today, however, these spaces are increasingly under pressure. The growth of streaming platforms, changing audience habits, rising operating costs, and the commercialisation of the film industry are challenging the traditional cinema experience. As a result, many independent and neighbourhood cinemas are struggling to survive.
This exhibition brings together the stories of cinemas from around the world. Some have been saved by their communities, others have found new ways to survive, while some have permanently closed. These examples show what can happen when people, cultural organisations, and public institutions take action to protect cultural spaces, and what can be lost when those spaces disappear.
Our purpose is to encourage visitors to look at cinemas not only from a business perspective, but from the perspective of urban life. When a cinema closes, we do not simply lose a building or a screen. We may also lose a meeting place, a part of a neighbourhood’s identity, and a space where collective memories are created.
Through this exhibition, we want to raise awareness of the importance of cinemas as places for communities and invite visitors to consider a broader question:
If we continue to lose the places where people come together, what kind of urban life are we leaving behind? And who should be responsible for protecting these spaces?
Cinema Metropolis in Beirut, Lebanon.
Founded in 2006, Metropolis opened just one day before war broke out in Lebanon. Its underground cinema immediately became a shelter for displaced families, where the team began screening films for children. In 2020, amid Lebanon’s economic crisis and the pandemic, Metropolis lost its permanent cinema and spent four years operating without a home. Despite these challenges, the organisation continued its cultural programmes across Lebanon. In December 2024, supported by donors and cultural partners, Metropolis finally opened a new permanent cinema in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighbourhood. It remains active today.
VIP welcome reception (24th November) | 17:00 – 19:30
Join an exclusive reception at Museo Spazio Pubblico with the curatorial team for a preview of the Film Festival, including films in competition and films out of competition. You will have the chance to take a closer look at the exhibition “Lost [in] Space” and to engage in an urban conversation while enjoying aperitivo and playing the game “Your Urban Vision”.
Game “My Urban Vision” at Museo Spazio Pubblico.
Online Opening / Meet the Curatorial team
25th November | 17.00 CET (Italy time)
The live stream will appear here when available.
On-site screenings
Venue: Museo Spazio Pubblico, via Eugenio Curiel 13/d, 40134 Bologna
Tickets available / limited capacity max 25 persons
Day 1 (26th November) | 17:00 – 20:30 CET (Italy time)
Living the City (Part 1)
1. “My Street” by Juan Carlos García-Sampedro Ferrero, Spain
2. “Il Girotondo” by Alice Palchetti, Germany
3. “Paris Fox” by Sofian Chouaib, France
4. “Engelsiz Pedal / Limitless Pedal” by Cihan Emre Zengin, Turkey
5. “State of Preparedness” by Rebeka Bratož Gornik, Slovenia
6. “Cats” by Danilo Stanimirović, Switzerland
7. “I’m Goin’ the Other Way” by Marco Espirito Santo, Portugal
8. “Space in Spotlight” by Yannick Noah Layer, Germany
9. “The hour of liberation is near” by Máte Vargas, United States
10. “Empathy Rehearsals” by Jacopo Cullin, Italy
11. “Burul” by Adilet Karzhoev, Kyrgyzstan
12. “Missing Footsteps” by Daniel Sousa, Portugal
Performing the City
1. “Chi vedo vedo” by Manfredi Niccolò Ostuni, Italy
2. “The Empty Space: Glide” by Swapnil Patil, United Kingdom
3. “Power Nap” by Kimvi Nguyen, China
4. “Odyssey to Peter Cook’s Fruity City” by Yi Wang, United States
Day 2 (27 th November) | 17:00 – 21:00 CET (Italy time)
Migrants, refugees and displaced communities
1. “We have God and a relief card” by Dana Kawasmi, Palestine
2. “Ensemble” by Manuel Cundari, Italy
3. “Largo” by Max Burgoyne-Moore, Salvatore Scarpa, United Kingdom
Resilient communities
1. “Kirkit” by Mert Solak, Turkey
2. “The Making of Corona Plaza” by Benazir Baig, United States
3. “March 17” by Giordano Gadelha, Brazil
4. “Buffer Zone” by Savvas Stavrou, United Kingdom
5. “America” by Javier Arias-stella, Peru
Feeling the City
1. “Market Street – Ton That Thuyet” by Andrew Stiff, United Kingdom
2. “Like dew before a thunderbolt Vol.1” by Benjamin Poumey, Switzerland
3. “A Birmingham Symphony” by Jemma Saunders, United Kingdom
4. “A Place is Not a Place – Fragment 1” by Miljana Nikovic, Austria
Day 3 (28th November) | 17:00 – 20:30 CET (Italy time)
Living the City (Part 2)
1. “Beyond the White Cube” by Giulia Magno, Italy
2. “Buses don’t stop here anymore” by Penny McCann, Canada
3. “Room Taken” by TJ O’Grady Peyton, Ireland
4. “Are You a Man” by Gjorce Stavreski, North Macedonia
5. “Cry Me A River” by Suman Sen, Taiwan
6. “Rhubarb Rhubarb” by Kate McMullen, United Kingdom
7. “Le Bateleur” by Jennifer Fanjeaux, France
8. “628 Years of Potatoes” by Vincent Jondeau, Brazil, France, Germany
9. “Living and working in NovaCity” by Jonathan Ortegat, Belgium
Teaching the City
1. “Nomadic space laboratory Part 1” by Biligt Altankhuyag, Mongolia
2. “From Canal to Canal: A Walk through present, past and future” by Letizia Montalbano, Italy
Day 3 (28th November) | 21:00 – 21:30 CET (Italy time)
Award Ceremony (hybrid format / Museo Spazio Pubblico & online)
The live stream will appear here when available.
SPECIAL EVENT
29th November | 17.00 CET (Italy time)
“La firma di Elisabetta” / “Elisabetta’s Signature”
A blend of a reading, a performance and storytelling theatre
Written and performed by Martina Vianovi (in Italian)
Venue: Museo Spazio Pubblico, via Eugenio Curiel 13/d, 40134 Bologna
FREE ENTRANCE / limited capacity max 25 persons
Bologna, 1600.
“You’re a woman, Elisabetta; stick to the minor arts. Instead of painting, why not do some embroidery?”
But Elisabetta won’t have any of it: she doesn’t embroider, she paints. And more than that. She does so throughout her life, becoming a genius of her time’s painting; in her studio, she sparks a revolution: she teaches. To other women like her, who are forbidden to learn elsewhere. And above all else, Elisabetta Sirani signs her work. With her own name. She is the first to do so: in all her paintings, Elisabetta asserts who she is.
And, looking straight into the eyes of those who wanted to keep her from her destiny, she disguises her signature as embroidery.
POST-FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS
2nd – 5th December | 17.00 – 19.30 CET (Italy time)
Films out of competition and discussion with guests.
Venue: Museo Spazio Pubblico, via Eugenio Curiel 13/d, 40134 Bologna
FREE ENTRANCE / Limited capacity max 20 persons
(exact dates for each screening to be announced soon)
Teaching the city
“Urban Realities Rome” by Pia Schneider and Tom Rankin, Italy
Living the city
“Good Hood Stories – Season 3” by Rashiq Fataar, South Africa
Feeling the city
“This Space Available” by Gwenaëlle Gobé, United States
“Milan Arbor” by Maurizio Dalla Palma, Italy
Performing the city
“Goodbye politicians” by Adam Cronkright, United States