Free cinema on Naples' beaches; the Arena returns in June.

Il free cinema on the beaches of Naples returns with the third edition of Arena, the open-air exhibition that from 5 to 28 June 2026 bring ten films between Mappatella Beach at Rotonda Diaz e Vico I Marina in San Giovanni a Teduccio. Promoted by City of Naples and co-financed by Metropolitan City of NaplesThe initiative combines screenings under the stars, meetings with cinema guests, and a new free program for young people. Watching a film on the beach is certainly a good idea, but understanding what goes on behind the scenes is even better.

Arena returns to the beaches of Naples with ten free films.

Arena returns to Naples with a formula that has already attracted audiences in the summers of 2024 and 2025, confirming something quite simple, even if not always obvious, that is that culture works better when it is brought to the places where people live and not only in spaces where the public must already feel like "insider". From 5 to 28 June 2026, the review proposes ten auteur films on the city beaches, transforming two areas of the urban coastline into an open-air theater, with free access and a program designed to intertwine contemporary cinema, tributes, meetings, and participation.

The event is promoted by City of Naples and co-financed by Metropolitan City of Naples within the Metropolitan events schedule 2026, while the program is curated by NEST – Naples East Theater, with the artistic direction of Francesco Di Leva e Adriano PantaleoThe choice is not just organizational, because it brings to the festival a precise vision of cinema as a collective experience, not just a simple projection on the big screen. In fact, each event will be accompanied by moments of discussion with directors, actors, and special guests.

Where to watch movies, between Rotonda Diaz and San Giovanni a Teduccio

The projections of Arena 2026 they will be divided between two symbolic and very different places of the city, that is the Mappatella Beach at Rotonda Diaz and the beach of Vico I Marina in San Giovanni a TeduccioThe first part of the festival will take place on the waterfront, in one of Naples' most recognizable spaces, while the closing part will move to the eastern part, bringing open-air cinema to an urban area that has become increasingly central to the city's cultural and social life in recent years. This is not a neutral choice, because spreading out the events also means broadening access and not always concentrating everything in the same places—a rare and therefore noteworthy miracle.

Al Lido Mappatella seven evenings are planned, from 5 14 to Junewhile a San Giovanni a Teduccio the last three appointments will be held, from 26 28 to JuneEach evening will be introduced by 20:30 from meetings and insights moderated by the journalist and film critic Gianmaria Tammaro, featuring directors, actors, and guests associated with the films on the program. The screening, therefore, isn't a quick summertime treat, but rather an opportunity to listen to those who write, direct, interpret, and create cinema, making the festival more interesting than the usual "film, chairs, and poster" arena.

The program at Lido Mappatella

Programming at Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout leaves on Friday 5nd June with Gioia mia di Margherita Spampinato, a 2025 film that opens the third edition of the festival. The following day, Saturday 6nd June, will be screened indivisible di Edoardo De Angelis, with a meeting with the director, while on Sunday 7nd June will arrive Ne Zha – The Rise of the Fire Warrior di Jiaozi, accompanied by a meeting with Alessandro RakThe first week, therefore, alternates recent cinema, a Neapolitan perspective, and animation, with a schedule constructed that tries not to flatten the audience into a single taste.

The program will continue on Thursday 11nd June with Death of a Neapolitan mathematician di Mario Martone, in an event also dedicated to the homage to Charles Cecchi and enriched by the meeting with Martone himself. Friday 12nd June it will be the turn of The climb di Massimiliano Gallo, with a meeting with the director, while on Saturday 13nd June will be projected Life as adults di Greta scarano, with the actors Yuri Tuci e Adriano Pantaleo. Sunday 14nd June, finally, the cycle at Rotonda Diaz will end with 40 seconds di Vincent Alfieri, 2026 film, accompanied by a meeting with the actor Francesco Ghegi.

Evenings in San Giovanni a Teduccio

The second part of Arena moves to the beach of Vico I Marina in San Giovanni a Teduccio, where three consecutive appointments are scheduled from 26 28 to June. Friday 26nd June it will be projected The first child di Mara Fondacaro, 2025 film, with meeting with the director, while on Saturday 27nd June a special screening of will be coming Robin Hood – Men in Tights di Mel Brooks, a choice linked to the centenary of the director's birth. Sunday 28nd June, the review will close with Black, 2025 film directed by and starring Giovanni Esposito, with the presence of the director and actor himself together with Susie Del Giudice.

The passage to San Giovanni a Teduccio It gives the festival a different feel, not limiting its open-air cinema to the most photographed waterfront, but extending its programming to the eastern part of the city, with a finale that brings together new Italian productions, cult comedies, and recent Neapolitan cinema. This is no small feat, because many cultural initiatives speak of a widespread city and then remain stuck in the same three directions. Arena, however, constructs at least a dual urban trajectory, with a central and an eastern section, combining accessibility, public spaces, and cinema.

Not just screenings, cinema professions are also arriving

The novelty of the 2026 edition is The crafts of the cinema, a free professional training course designed for young people in the area, born from the collaboration between the municipal administration and NEST – Naples East TheaterHere the festival takes a more interesting step, because it doesn't simply offer free films, which is already useful, but tries to present cinema as work, a production chain, expertise, and collective construction. In an era when everyone "makes content" and few truly understand what it means to produce images, opening a window onto the behind-the-scenes crafts is a much less decorative choice than it seems.

The route will start on Saturday 27 is Sunday 28nd June in the spaces of NEST – Naples East Theaterin Via Bernardino Martirano 17, with two meetings dedicated to stunts and safety on set together with Marco LangellottiThe initiative will then continue in the month of September both at House of Culture of the Municipality of Naples, Palazzo Cavalcantiin via Toledo 348, with meetings on direction, film script, movie wig, light e image constructionThe training will involve professionals such as Edoardo De Angelis, Emanuele Palamara, Maurizio braucci, Bruno Oliviero, Gaetano Panic e Michele D'Attanasio.

The complete screening schedule

To orient yourself among dates, places and guests, it is best to read the program as a map divided into two blocks, because the first part focuses on the Lido Mappatella and the second one comes to San Giovanni a TeduccioThe meetings start from 20:30, so the schedule shouldn't be considered just a pre-film wait, but an integral part of the festival, especially on evenings featuring specific directors, actors, or tributes. The program announced by the City of Naples includes:

• Friday June 5, Gioia mia di Margherita Spampinato, 2025, to Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Saturday June 6, indivisible di Edoardo De Angelis, 2016, with a meeting with the director, at Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Sunday June 7, Ne Zha – The Rise of the Fire Warrior di Jiaozi, 2025, with meeting with Alessandro Rak, Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Thursday June 11, Death of a Neapolitan mathematician di Mario Martone, 1992, with tribute to Charles Cecchi and meeting with the director, at Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Friday June 12, The climb di Massimiliano Gallo, 2025, with a meeting with the director, at Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Saturday June 13, Life as adults di Greta scarano, 2025, with Yuri Tuci e Adriano Pantaleo, Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Sunday June 14, 40 seconds di Vincent Alfieri, 2026, with Francesco Ghegi, Mappatella Beach – Diaz Roundabout
• Friday June 26, The first child di Mara Fondacaro, 2025, with a meeting with the director, at the beach of Vico I Marina – San Giovanni a Teduccio
• Saturday June 27, Robin Hood – Men in Tights di Mel Brooks, 1993, special screening for the centenary of the director's birth, at the beach of Vico I Marina – San Giovanni a Teduccio
• Sunday June 28, Black by and with Giovanni Esposito, 2025, with Giovanni Esposito e Susie Del Giudice, at the beach of Vico I Marina – San Giovanni a Teduccio

The free course for those who want to understand cinema from the inside

The calendar of The crafts of the cinema It deserves a separate space because it reaches a wider audience than just those attending screenings and speaks directly to young people interested in the audiovisual sector. Its value lies not in promising glittering careers, a formula we happily leave to poorly written LinkedIn posts, but in demonstrating that a film is born from the convergence of technical, creative, and organizational skills, often invisible to the viewer. Directing and screenwriting are the most recognizable areas, but stunts, security, wigs, lighting, and image remind us that cinema is a system of professions, not just a face on a screen.

The announced events are:

• Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June, NEST – Naples East Theaterin Via Bernardino Martirano 17, two meetings on stunts and safety on set with Marco Langellotti
• September, House of Culture of Palazzo Cavalcantiin via Toledo 348, two meetings of direction with Edoardo De Angelis ed Emanuele Palamara
• September, House of Culture of Palazzo Cavalcanti, two meetings of film script with Maurizio braucci e Bruno Oliviero
• September, House of Culture of Palazzo Cavalcanti, meeting on The wig in cinema: art, technique and character identity with Gaetano Panic
• September, House of Culture of Palazzo Cavalcanti, two meetings on light and image with Michele D'Attanasio