The Rome Film Festival is having its 20th edition this year. On October 22nd, the documentary I Love Lucca Comics & Games had its official world premiere at the event. Shown in the FreeStyle Arts section, the documentary captures the energy, emotion, and people behind one of the world’s biggest pop-culture gatherings.
The film’s director, Manlio Castagna, was present in the screenings at the Auditorium Parco della Musica and later at the MAXXI Museum. Alongside him were Andrea Romeo from I Wonder Pictures, Lucca Comics & Games director Emanuele Vietina, and executive producer Giulia Moretti.
What’s I Love Lucca Comics & Games about?
I Love Lucca Comics & Games focuses on the spectacle of Lucca’s famous pop-culture convention. It explores how the event transforms the medieval city of Lucca into a living, breathing universe of art, imagination, and human connection.
Every year, more than 300,000 fans fill the city’s streets, joined by over 900 guests and 600 exhibitors. It turns the city into Europe’s second-largest pop-culture event after Gamescom in Germany.
The Rome premiere reflected that same spirit. It saw over 40 cosplayers, including Leon Chiro, Elizabeth Rage, Nynphahri, Himorta, Gaia Giselle, and Nives Sela, parade across the red carpet.
The film is getting distributed by I Wonder Pictures in collaboration with the Unipol Biografilm Collection. It will hit Italian theatres for three days on November 10th, 11th, and 12th, 2025.
On that note, watch the latest trailers of the film’s screening at Rome below.
Castagna described the project as a celebration of individuality. He highlighted how it focuses on people who wear masks not to hide but to reveal who they truly are.
As Lucca Comics & Games prepares for its next edition from October 29th to November 2nd, 2025, this documentary serves as both a tribute and a love letter to the community.
You can learn more about the film on the official X account.
Also, read our news on The Ghost in the Shell Returns to TV in 2026 with a New Series from Science SARU.
