The Festival of Real and Unreal Cinema is back, taking to the streets once more with the most daring cinema you could possibly see and hear.
For twenty-three years, the Festival of Real and Unreal Cinema has been travelling through the places, communities and landscapes of Salento, creating opportunities for cinema, the arts and the local area to come together.
Ahead of the 2026 edition, scheduled for 15–18 July 2026 at the Castello Volante in Corigliano d’Otranto, a programme of events is already taking shape in June, offering a preview of its themes, visions and practices. This programme involves local venues, communities and cultural organisations, transforming the run-up to the festival into an opportunity for encounter, dialogue and participation. The 23rd edition is guided by the word CAOS, chosen as a lens through which to interpret a present marked by change, conflict and constant transformation. It is a concept that invites us to embrace complexity, to welcome uncertainty and to question reality through new forms of storytelling; a reflection that takes shape as early as the June events, designed as opportunities for discovery, shared vision and dialogue with the local communities.
From 10 to 24 June, ‘Cinema di Strada’ gets underway – a new film series organised in collaboration with CINE? by Magma Aps and Castello Volante, which takes cinema beyond conventional screening venues to meet audiences in the squares and outlying neighbourhoods of Corigliano d’Otranto. This series of screenings reaffirms the Festival’s vision of cinema as a space for community, imagination and journeys around the world. Three free-entry events dedicated to stories of journeys, memory and resistance, accompanied by opportunities for discussion and participation.
It kicks off on 10 June in Piazza Vittoria with Wim Wenders’ *Buena Vista Social Club*. On 17 June, in the small square on Via Trieste, there will be a screening of Malik Bendjelloul’s *Searching for Sugar Man*. The series concludes on 24 June in Piazza Aldo Moro with *Letizia Battaglia – Shooting the Mafia* by Kim Longinotto. Following each screening, there will be a discussion open to the public.
PROGRAMME
10 June | Piazza Vittoria
*Buena Vista Social Club*
by Wim Wenders
17 June | Piazza via Trieste
Searching for Sugar Man
by Malik Bendjelloul
24 June > Piazza A. Moro
Shooting the Mafia
by Kim Longinotto
View the full programme at
cinemadelreale.it
Free admission
(subject to availability)
The 2026 Festival of Real and Unreal Cinema is a project by Big Sur, organised in collaboration with the associations OfficinaVisioni and Cinema del reale, under the patronage of the Municipality of Corigliano d’Otranto. This initiative is funded by the Revolving Fund under the 2021–2027 Cohesion Agreement for the Puglia Region.
