Corto Condorello 2026 launches with new Pink Condorello audience award

The second edition of the Corto Condorello short film festival will run from December 11 to 13 at Cinema Troisi in Rome. Organized by the Fondazione Piccolo America, the event is open to filmmakers under the age of 35 from around the world.

Submission rules and fees

Submissions open on November 6 exclusively through the FilmFreeway platform. The entry fee is 10 euros per short. Films must be completed on or after January 1, 2025, and cannot exceed 20 minutes in length, including end credits. There is no premiere requirement, so films that have already been screened, distributed, or made available online are eligible.

Jury and awards structure

The international jury is chaired by director Nicolas Winding Refn. Other confirmed jurors include Chiara Costa, head of programs at Fondazione Prada; filmmaker Abel Ferrara; James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade; fashion model and actress Laura Grassi; artist Demi Demitro; Baby Pottersmith of the band The Velveteers; and Elias Rønnenfelt, frontman of Iceage.

The jury will award the Golden Condorello, while the festival audience in Rome will decide the Silver Condorello. Both of these top prizes come with a one-year distribution deal on the MUBI platform. Films screening out of competition will compete for the Bronze Condorello, awarded by the audience and including a 500 euro voucher for Bar San Calisto in Trastevere.

New for 2026 is the Pink Condorello, an online audience award created in partnership with Nicolas Winding Refn's platform, byNWR. It is reserved for films in competition whose directors publish them on byNWR. Users of the platform will decide the winner through an online vote. The winning film will remain available on byNWR for one year.

Past edition and prizes

The festival's inaugural edition in November 2024 drew 2,000 entries from 86 countries. Its jury was chaired by Paolo Sorrentino and included Willem Dafoe, Carla Bruni, Radu Mihăileanu, Debra Winger, and Jan Komasa. That edition awarded the Golden Condorello to 'Majonezë' by Giulia Grandinetti. That film later won the Grand Prix at the Brussels Short Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, achievements which qualified it for the 2026 Oscars.

Pink Condorello voting timeline

The online vote for the new Pink Condorello award will open in late November, coinciding with the announcement of the selected films. Nicolas Winding Refn said, "Join us in discovering the next generation of bold voices in short film." The voting period will run through December 12. Selected films will be announced at the end of November.