The Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies at UMD present
Il Cinema Ritrovato ON TOUR
Five Days in Cinephile Heaven
MARCH 4-8, 2026
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A festival of restored films at the University of Maryland, College Park and in the DMV area
The festival at a glance
The festival at a glance
A Conversation on the Cinema of the Economic Miracle
A Conversation on the Cinema of the Economic Miracle
Day 1: Wednesday, March 4 at the Italian Cultural Institute (Embassy of Italy, Washington DC) - FREE (RESERVATION REQUIRED)
This year the festival will open on March 4 with a conversation about Italian cinema in the 1960s at the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington. The conversation will feature MONICA SEGER, Professor of Italian Studies at the College of William and Mary, and SAVERIO GIOVACCHINI, Professor of History and Cinema & Media Studies at the University of Maryland.
Celebrating Katharine Hepburn
Celebrating Katharine Hepburn
Day 2: Thursday, March 5 at 4pm on the UMD Campus (TWS 0320) - FREE (NO RESERVATION REQUIRED)
On March 5, the festival will celebrate the great Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park (Tawes 0320), with screenings of two of her masterpieces: CHRISTOPHER STRONG (dir. Dorothy Arzner, 1933, 78’), and ADAM’S RIB (dir. George Cukor, 1949, 101’). A roundtable discussion will take place in between the two screenings.
Love, Crime, and Politics in Postwar Italy
Love, Crime, and Politics in Postwar Italy
Day 3: Friday, March 6, 7:00pm - AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center - FREE (RESERVATION REQUIRED)
On March 6, the festival will move to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, for a screening of BEBO’S GIRL (dir. Luigi Comencini, 1963, 111’). Featuring a career-making performance by Claudia Cardinale, the film follows a working-class girl torn between love and loyalty in the aftermath of World War II and features spectacular chiaroscuro cinematography by Gianni Di Venanzo. The film will be introduced by Mauro Resmini, Associate Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and Italian at UMD.
A Rediscovered Gem of Midcentury Modernism
A Rediscovered Gem of Midcentury Modernism
Day 4: Saturday, March 7, 2pm - National Gallery of Art - FREE (RESERVATION REQUIRED)
On March 7, the festival will move to the East Building Auditorium at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. for a screening of the recently rediscovered and restored gem SMOG (dir. Franco Rossi, 1962, 101’), the first Italian film shot entirely in the United States. The film follows a lawyer from Rome who spends 48 hours exploring the futuristic city of Los Angeles and is accompanied by a soundtrack featuring Chet Baker on trumpet.
Joan Crawford in the South Seas
Joan Crawford in the South Seas
Day 5: Sunday, March 8, 2:00pm - National Gallery of Art - FREE (RESERVATION REQUIRED)
On March 8, we return to the East Building Auditorium at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to conclude the festival with the moody, pre-Code drama RAIN (dir. Lewis Milestone, 1932). Set on an island in the South Seas, the film follows a puritanical missionary played by Walter Huston, who tries (and fails) to save the soul of a prostitute portrayed by the incomparable Joan Crawford. This recent restoration reveals the true scope of Milestone’s attack on self-righteousness. The film will be introduced by Heather Linville of the Library of Congress.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE BUT REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL NON-UMD LOCATIONS.
The sixth Mid-Atlantic edition of the restored film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour (Re-discovered Cinema on Tour) takes place from March 4 through March 8, 2026 across the DMV area.
Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour is an initiative of the Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. The festival is generously co-sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute at the Embassy of Italy and presented in partnership with the Bologna Film Archive, Italy (Cineteca di Bologna), AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, and the National Gallery of Art.
Every year in Bologna, Italy, the Cineteca of Bologna hosts what has been defined as a “pure heaven for cinéphiles” or Il Cinema Ritrovato.
Get to know the people behind the organization of the festival here in Maryland and the institutions that support us!
Co-sponsored by
The Department of French and Italian; The Department of German Studies;
The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; The Center for Literary and Comparative Studies;
and the Arts for All initiative at UMD;
In collaboration with
The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, Silver Spring, MD;
The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington.
The sixth Mid-Atlantic edition of the restored film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour (Re-discovered Cinema on Tour) takes place from March 4 through March 8, 2026 across the DMV area.
Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour is an initiative of the Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. The festival is generously co-sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute at the Embassy of Italy and presented in partnership with the Bologna Film Archive, Italy (Cineteca di Bologna), AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, and the National Gallery of Art.
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