Italy’s New Riviera-Set Series Festival Mixes Glamour, Global Drama, and a Dose of Controversy

Launching later this month, the Italian Global Series Festival (IGSF) marks the long-awaited revival of the dormant RomaFictionFest, now with a spiffier, Riviera-side setting and a more ambitious remit. Running June 21–28 along the Adriatic beachfront between Rimini and Riccione, the revamped event signals more than a simple rebrand for a venerable TV showcase last seen in 2016.

“When Roma went dark, Italian drama lost its home,” says IGSF artistic director Marco Spagnoli. “We lost a place to spotlight our talent and connect creators from different backgrounds and storytelling traditions. In today’s fragmented, content-saturated world, a curated festival is more vital than ever—not just to champion great shows, but to foster real collaboration.”

Indeed, the original festival played a pivotal role in launching breakout Italian hits like “Gomorrah” and “The Mafia Kills Only in Summer,” while serving as a bridge between local talent and the international market. After winning best new series in 2015, “The Man in the High Castle” showrunner Frank Spotnitz formed ties that led to co-productions such as “Medici” and “Leonardo” —ties that now bring him back as a guest of honor and juror for IGSF’s inaugural drama competition.

Even in the absence of a flagship showcase, Italy’s audiovisual sector has continued to boom, with the value Italian original titles growing at an average annual rate of 11.6% since 2017 and surpassing €2 billion in total value by 2023. Meanwhile, Rome’s MIA Market—originally launched as an extension of RomaFictionFest’s industry arm—has evolved into a major international event each fall. That experience informs IGSF’s new blueprint, with many of the same players behind the scenes.

“This isn’t some upstart initiative,” says Spagnoli, who also serves as MIA’s deputy director. “That’s exactly why we’re focused on collaboration, not competition. Italy already has four major film festivals—we don’t need to treat each other as rivals. What we don’t have is anything like New York or Toronto, where audiences and industry alike can preview the upcoming TV season. Our idea is simple: if you’ve got something good, show it.”

This year’s edition will spotlight 61 series from 25 countries, including 32 titles in international competition across drama, comedy, and limited series formats. The lineup features 14 world premieres, including “Bookish” from “Sherlock” co-creator Mark Gatiss, Movistar Plus+’s “Los Sin Nombre” starring Milena Smit, and Prime Video’s spy thriller “The Assassin” with Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore.

Lena Dunham’s Netflix rom-com “Too Much” will screen as a special event out of competition, while “Ironheart” and “The Bear” season four will premiere simultaneously with their streaming release on Disney+.

Guests and honorees range from Evangeline Lilly, Steven Moffat, Dean Norris, Bille August, and Katheryn Winnick to Italian heavyweights like Marco Bellocchio, Valeria Golino, and Alberto Barbera, who will take part in a conversation series titled Masters of Storytelling.

Just don’t expect many of them to drop in for a quick photo-op, as the organizers have reimagined the Rimini and Riccione-based festival to impart a more unhurried atmosphere. “People need time,” says Spagnoli, noting that the beachfront setting and local infrastructure naturally invite a slower pace.

“Too often, festivals are shaped by the constraints of money and scheduling. It’s so expensive to fly talent around that they’re shuttled in and out in a matter of hours. We try to avoid that. We want people to stay to share ideas and make connections. People from across the industry all need space to think, to talk, and to meet others. Hopefully they’ll do so here.”

To that end, IGSF has made accessibility a top priority—keeping events free and open to the public, aligning the schedule with a national summer holiday week, and asking all guests to make themselves available to the press. That includes more polarizing figures like Kevin Spacey, who will receive the festival’s Maximo Excellence Award and participate in what’s expected to be his most extensive media engagement in years.

“Spacey will take all the questions,” Spagnoli says. “We’ll see how he handles them. He’s never done a similar Q&A or masterclass, so this could be interesting.”

While acknowledging that the decision sparked “some reservations,” Spagnoli underscores that the award is retrospective, and stresses it would not have been considered had Spacey not been acquitted or if any charges were still pending. “Perception of him in Europe is still very different from in the U.S.,” he adds. “As a festival, we try to recognize talent—just as we do in other cases. It’s compelling to see how people navigate adversity. If he’s truly changed, let him prove it. Awards should be useful.”

Still, he knows the move will draw attention. “Sometimes you have to take bold actions,” he says. “We’re not afraid of controversy, and have also programmed plenty of series that are provocative, strange, or challenging. I like to say we’re rebels with a cause.”