Banca Ifis Celebrates Cinema and Music at the Rome Film Fest From the award ceremony for Nicola Piovani to the Banca Ifis Lounge, a collaboration that places the cultural value of the seventh art at its center

What would cinema be without music? Sometimes just a few notes are enough to recognise a film, recall a scene, or recapture an emotion. It is partly from this bond that Banca Ifis draws its presence at the 21st edition of the Rome Film Fest, running from 13 to 25 October at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone. The occasion marks the beginning of a three-year partnership with the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, established to support cinema as a cultural heritage and a space for dialogue.

One of the most significant moments of the event was the presentation of the Ifis Lifetime Achievement Award to Nicola Piovani, composer and orchestra conductor who has helped define the musical identity of some of the most important films in the history of Italian cinema. An Academy Award winner in 1999 for the soundtrack of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful, Piovani has composed over 250 film scores, collaborating with directors such as Federico Fellini and Mario Monicelli. The award was presented by Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, Chairman of Banca Ifis, during the opening ceremony of the Fest.

The Bank's involvement in the event extends beyond the screening rooms. Throughout the festival, the Banca Ifis Lounge hosts interviews, talks and meetings between cinema figures, journalists, institutions and businesses. A space designed to encourage the exchange of ideas and spark conversations bringing together the worlds of culture, media and innovation, including through events open to the public.

"Great cinema shapes critical thinking, educates us in empathy, and trains us to understand worlds different from our own," said Fürstenberg Fassio. A principle that encapsulates the spirit of the collaboration and the role that Banca Ifis assigns to culture as a tool for collective growth. From celebrating figures such as Nicola Piovani to creating new spaces for dialogue, the institution's presence at the Rome Film Fest reflects an approach to supporting the sector that begins with people and stories — on screen and off.