Rimini; 07/12/2025: Comune RN Uff Stampa, Premio Fellini al Teatro Galli

©Riccardo Gallini /GRPhoto

Alfonso Cuarón. The Mexican director and screenwriter, twice winner of an Oscar, received the award on Sunday 7 December 2025 at the Teatro Galli, in a ceremony that marked the beginning of a new chapter for this important tribute to the great Rimini maestro.

An emotion that comes from childhood

‘It is an incredible and moving honour to receive, in the city where he was born, an award named after the artist who has influenced my love of cinema so much since my early childhood’: with these words, Cuarón commented on the news of the award, revealing a deep and personal connection with Fellini’s work that has its roots in his early years.

The Mexican director, born in 1961, is considered one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, capable of ranging with extraordinary eclecticism between different genres: from the road comedy Y tu mamá también (2001) to the fantasy Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), from the dystopia of Children of Men (2006) to the sublime space of Gravity (2013), to the autobiographical intimacy of Roma (2018). It was these last two titles that earned him the Oscar for Best Director, in addition to the Golden Lion in Venice for Roma and numerous other international awards.

The new direction of the Award

The 2025 edition represents a fundamental turning point for the Fellini Award, established for the first time by the City of Rimini in 1994 and inactive since it was awarded to Terry Gilliam in 2011. Its rebirth is thanks to renewed collaboration with the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, one of the most prestigious institutions in the international film culture scene, with director Gian Luca Farinelli in the role of artistic coordinator.

‘We were keen to launch a new season of the Fellini Award after 15 years that have seen the city of Rimini invest heavily in the director’s creativity and artistic and intellectual legacy, starting with the reopening of the Cinema Fulgor in 2018 and the new Fellini Museum,’ emphasise Mayor Jamil Sadegholvaad and Councillor for Culture Michele Lari.

The motivation behind the award to Cuarón is not simply to pay tribute to an extraordinary career, but rather ‘to recognise someone who, with his vision and talent, is capable of innovating and breaking new ground, drawing inspiration from Fellini and the beloved Italian cinema of the golden age.’

A retrospective to discover Cuarón’s cinema

The entire weekend was enriched by a retrospective dedicated to the Mexican director’s filmography. It was a unique opportunity to rediscover or see his most important films on the big screen, ideally placed in dialogue with the work of Federico Fellini.

The programme of screenings at the Cinema Modernissimo in Bologna included:

• Sólo con tu pareja (1991), Cuarón’s debut film
• A Little Princess (1995)
• Y tu mamá también (2001)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
• Children of Men (2006)
• Gravity 3D (2013)
• Roma (2018),

The Fellini Award Hall of Fame

With Alfonso Cuarón, the number of great directors who have received the Fellini Award in over thirty years of history rises to twelve. The complete Hall of Fame:

• 1994: John Turturro
• 1995: Kathryn Bigelow
• 1996: Emir Kusturica
• 1997: John Landis
• 2005: Martin Scorsese
• 2006: Roman Polanski
• 2007: Ermanno Olmi
• 2008: Tullio Pinelli
• 2009: Sidney Lumet
• 2010: Paolo Sorrentino
• 2011: Terry Gilliam
• 2025: Alfonso Cuarón

An impressive list spanning different generations and styles, united by the common thread of auteur cinema capable of moving and innovating, just as Federico Fellini did.

A new lease of life for the Award

The Emilia-Romagna Regional Councillor for Culture, Gessica Allegni, commented enthusiastically on the relaunch of the award: ‘The presentation of the 2025 Fellini Award to Alfonso Cuarón is a moment of great prestige for the whole of Emilia-Romagna and testifies to the excellent work that Rimini is doing in promoting the cultural heritage of the Maestro’ .

The relaunch of the Award fits perfectly into a broader strategy to promote the cultural and cinematographic heritage of Emilia-Romagna, confirming the region as a national and international reference point for the seventh art .

It was an unmissable event for all cinema lovers who celebrated, in the city of the Maestro, the ideal dialogue between two generations of directors capable of transforming dreams into unforgettable images.