How to find English and original language film screenings in Italy

If you've spent much time in Italy, you'll know that it can be hard to find cinema screenings of an English or foreign-language film that hasn't been dubbed into Italian.

French actor Vincent Cassel made waves in 2016 when he likened Italy's dubbing industry to "a mafia" during the press tour for his film Un moment d'égarement (One Wild Moment), complaining that it was impossible to find an original language film screening in Italy.

Even if you speak Italian, the prevalence of dubbed films can be frustrating to viewers who feel the nuance of the original is lost in translation - particularly when it's the same small group of voice actors on rotation for decades at a stretch.

However, there are some options available for cinema lovers in Italy's largest and most international cities, and on occasion in smaller areas if you know where to look.

Here's how you can find English and original language film screenings in Rome and Milan, and (to a lesser extent), in Italian towns and cities across the country.

Rome

For an easy overview of all the English and original-language film screenings happening in Rome on a week by week basis, you'll want to check out Rome Review. 

Romeing also has a (less comprehensive) list that is updated weekly.

Cinemas known to screen films in the original language - some exclusively, others occasionally - include Cinema Troisi, Intrastevere, Barberini, Multisala Lux, Nuovo Olimpia, Andromeda, Greenwich, Tibur, Farnese, Giulio Cesare, and Nuovo Sacher, among others.

Finding a non-dubbed movie screening in Italy: difficult but not impossible. Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash

When hunting for original language films, be on the look out for the annotations 'v.o' (short for versione originale), 'sott.' (short for sottotitoli, or subtitles), or 'lingua originale' (original language).

Unless a cinema is known for only screening films in the original language, any listing that lacks these annotations means the film will likely be dubbed into Italian.

READ ALSO: The stunning movie scene locations you simply have to visit in Italy

Milan

In Milan, Cinema Mexico, Cinema Beltrade and Cineteca Milano Arlecchino screen films exclusively in the original language, while Anteo Spazio Cinema has frequent original language screenings and Ducale and Arcobaleno have occasional showings.

Il Cinemino, meanwhile, is a members-only film club that screens both dubbed and subtitled films.

Across Italy

In cities and towns across Italy, you can find English and original language film screenings near you by searching the site mymovies.it.

Click on the link to your province on the sidebar, and then click the blue 'lingua originale' button at the top of the page.

The site will update with a timetable of original language films showing in your area the same day.

Additionally, the cinema chain UCI through its Film in English programme regularly screens original language films in its cinema halls across the country.

Just go to UCI's Film in English programme page to see which original language films are showing in your nearest cinema over the week ahead.