Countdown to the return of the international series festival. The appointment with the second edition of the Italian Global Series is in Rimini and Riccione from 3 to 11 July 2026. The godmother and presenter of the second edition is the actress Matilde Gioli.
Directed by the critic Marco Spagnoli, the festival is organized by Apa, the audiovisual producers association led by president Chiara Sbarigia, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipalities of Riccione and Rimini, Siae and Agis, the general Italian entertainment association.
For the Undersecretary of Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, “the Italian Global Series Festival is not just a festival: it is an idea that takes shape, it is the demonstration that Italy, when it bets on its own talent, knows how to speak to the world. It did it last year, bringing international stars to the Riviera, from Kevin Spacey to Can Yaman, and it will do it again”. And again: “As promised, the Festival returns to Romagna for the second consecutive year, in a territory that has given shape to imaginaries recognized throughout the world: the land of Federico Fellini, where imagination is culture and identity. Here the series are not just entertainment: they are stories, industry, work, future. They bring with them promotion of the territory, international attention, millions of euros of related activities. But above all they bring pride. I am sure that this year too, great titles, great guests, great stories will arrive. And I am sure that the world will look once again at this land, recognizing its beauty, the incredible talent and the energy it can transmit. Because when Italy invests in its stories, it does not celebrate the past: it builds the future”.
“We welcome with great satisfaction the confirmation of the Italian Global Series in Emilia-Romagna, an event that strengthens the identity of our region as the natural home of cinema – explains the Tourism Councilor, Roberta Frisoni. Rimini and Riccione, with their symbolic places and the Fellini magic that can still be felt today, become stages capable of telling the world about our creativity, the beauty of the territory and its history”. The festival, he continues, “thanks to the presence of world-famous actors and directors and the extraordinary attention of the media, represents a strategic lever of territorial branding. A precious opportunity to broaden our tourist attractiveness on international markets and consolidate the image of Emilia-Romagna as a land that knows how to imagine, produce and transform TV series into a powerful promotional tool”.
The president of Apa, Chiara Sbarigia, underlines that the second edition “it will have a renewed format with a new section entirely dedicated to children, greater space for artistic professions and an award for Casting Directors. The major international previews in competition, the keynotes with the leading figures of seriality and the meetings with the public’s favorites have been confirmed. Original Italian productions will be the great protagonists of the Festival, confirming the success of a sector capable of telling the story of our country to an increasingly global audience.”
Marco Spagnoli, artistic director of the festival, defines it as “ithe most significant project of my career”. The critic anticipates that “this year we intend to expand our space for reflection to the many professionals who work towards the success of Italian and international serials: from writing to music, from costumes to scenography up to the work of building real narrative universes that mark our present as has always happened with great literature. We aim to enhance the talents and excellence of our country, with particular attention to the protection of the current star system and the commitment to building the future one, quickly becoming a point of reference and a meeting place for the national and international industry, in the name of the stories, talents and audiovisual productions that have always represented one of the most important Italian excellences”.
