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Storia
Since 1985
Since 1985, Rimini has been home to Cartoon Club – International Festival of Animation Cinema, Comics and Games – one of the longest-running events of its kind in Italy. Now a staple of Rimini’s summer calendar, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors, the festival was born out of the experience of Acli Arte e Spettacolo Rimini.
Its founder was Paolo Scarponi, the unforgettable president and cultural figure of the Rimini ACLI. Alongside him were film scholar Isidoro Lanari and a group of young, passionate enthusiasts.
After Scarponi’s untimely passing in 1991, several of those young “helpers” decided to carry on his legacy. Over the years, the small founding group managed to gather around the event a loyal circle of fellow adventurers—professionals, journalists, and industry experts—who have never failed to bring passion and expertise, allowing Cartoon Club to grow into what it is today.
The festival was born, back in the summer of 1985, with the aim of introducing the public to Italian animated cinema—its creators, production companies, and works that had flourished particularly after the golden era of Carosello.
Thanks to the invaluable support of renowned cartoonists like Osvaldo Cavandoli (a Milan native who spent every summer vacationing in Rimini—specifically in Torre Pedrera), Nedo Zanotti (from Rimini, a friend of Cavandoli’s who moved to Milan to pursue a career in animation), and ASIFA Italia (the Italian chapter of the International Animated Film Association), all the major figures in Italian animation came to Rimini to present their films—in exchange for a day at the beach, a piadina, some Sangiovese wine, and the warm hospitality of a group of Romagnoli representing a serious yet unconventional festival, rich in content and created with limited resources.
In the 1980s, screenings were still held on 16mm film (over 35 years, Cartoon Club has navigated every technological shift: VHS, Betamax, DVD, and now digital formats). Screenings took place in the evocative 18th-century Old Fish Market (Antica Pescheria) in Piazza Cavour, in Rimini’s historic center, with the audience sitting on about a hundred chairs or on the white marble counters where fish was once displayed for sale.
The nineties
In 1996, the Festival broadened its horizons and opened up to international animated cinema. That same year, it also began to take its first steps into the world of comics. But it was 1997 that marked a major turning point: Cartoon Club doubled its locations. In addition to the Antica Pescheria, it began hosting events in Piazzale Federico Fellini in Marina Centro, right in front of the dreamlike Grand Hotel overlooking the beach.
Alongside the setup of an open-air screen for evening screenings, the Festival: Launched the Signor Rossi Award for films made by animation students; Introduced the Franco Fossati Award for works of criticism and scholarship on comics; Opened the doors to RiminiComix, the comics market and exhibition, which in its first year hosted no more than a dozen publishers and collectors.
In 1998, Cartoon Club—driven by what could only be called a mad passion (it took 15 years to pay off the investment)—took over Fumo di China, the historic magazine of comics criticism and scholarship, which was on the verge of closing (today published by IfEdizioni). From that point on, the Rimini-based editorial team took over the monthly publication. Animation cinema and comics became an inseparable pair, a bond the magazine continues to explore and narrate.
Over the years, the growth of Cartoon Club has been unstoppable. The adventures we could tell are countless—filled with moments of great effort and great satisfaction alike.
Today
Today, the Festival's initiatives occupy the most iconic locations across Rimini—from the evocative settings of the Historic City Center, the cultural heart of Rimini, to Piazzale Fellini, which is transformed into a vibrant village that engages nearby businesses and beach operators with its events.
The Festival has evolved into a complex and multifaceted event, featuring:
- Over 300 animated short films from 50 countries around the world;
- Anime, graduation films from animation schools, monographs, and TV series;
- Meetings with authors, directors, and publishers; workshops, exhibitions, internships, debates with critics and artists; musical and theatrical performances; educational activities and masterclasses.
The Festival hosts several competitions, with international juries awarding prizes to the best animated shorts from around the globe, as well as to filmmakers, animation students, comic artists, and writers. Around 100 guests, both Italian and international, attend the Festival each year.
Let’s not forget RiminiComix: the comics market and exhibition, which today welcomes over 200 exhibitors, including publishers, antique comic sellers, manga distributors, and collectors.
In 2005, the Cosplay Convention was added—a lively, fun-filled spectacle that attracts thousands of fans and enthusiasts of all ages and from around the world. Dressed impeccably as their favorite characters—heroes from comics, movies, TV series, or games—they fill the streets and bring the city to life.
The Festival’s activity extends well beyond the summer event, with a rich lineup of year-round programming: exhibitions, author meetups, special screenings for children and families, curated film series on specific themes (e.g., bullying, anti-discrimination, ecology, disability, etc.), and animation and comic workshops in schools and community centers. Cartoon Club is a world in motion, never the same, still full of dreams. For thirty-five years, it has been committed to promoting understanding of often-underestimated forms of communication, keeping alive its identity as an International Festival with a local Romagnolo soul, open to the world.
Discover all the events and stay
updated on upcoming appointments
Discover all the events and stay updated on upcoming appointments
Institutional partners
Nessun partner trovato.