Unifrance was once again a partner of the Palatine Prize this year, the first and only binational film award presented by high school students in Italy and France.
The selection offered French and Italian high school students three films (Italian films for French students; French titles for Italian students), as part of a dual series of traveling screenings.
The two films that scooped the 2026 Palatine Prize are both coming-of-age stories, both marked by memories and a longing for freedom: Colours Of Time by Cédric Klapisch, distributed in Italy by Teodora Film, was voted Best French Film by the Italian jury. On the French front, Un anno di scuola - A Year of School by Laura Samani, was awarded Best Italian Film by the student jury.
Colours Of Time made a lasting impression on the students with its ability to tell the story of the future through the past. Cédric Klapisch accompanied the film to Italy, traveling between Rome and Naples to meet with the Palatine Prize jury and discuss with the students the relationship between memory and family heritage. The film follows four heirs who, gathered around a family home in Normandy, piece together the forgotten story of Adèle and discover how the choices of a young woman who lived over a century ago can still resonate today.
Also in competition for the Palatine Prize were Dominik Moll's Case 137, distributed by Teodora Film, and Amélie Bonnin's Leave One Day, distributed by Fandango, the latter film was selected from the lineup of the Rendez-vous – Nuovo cinema francese festival through a partnership between the Institut Français - Italy, Unifrance, and the Palatine Prize.
With more than 3,000 students involved, over 60 screenings organized in France and Italy, and a growing network of schools, cinemas, and cultural institutions, the fourth edition of the Palatine Prize reaffirms its role as a bridge between the two countries and as a premier platform for film education, intercultural dialogue, and language learning through cinema. The young jurors watched the films in their original versions with subtitles, participated in meetings and discussions with the filmmakers, compared their critical analyses, and voted for their favorite films.
The Palatine Prize's official site.
