The theme of this Nine edition 2026 of the competition “Fiorenzo Serra” is “Popular medicine around the world, cinema and the culture of healing”.
Popular medicine represents one of humanity's oldest and most widespread cultural heritages. Through medicinal herbs, therapeutic rituals, spiritual
practices, oral knowledge, and traditional healers, communities around the world have developed systems of care that illustrate the profound relationship between
body, nature, memory, and culture.
The competition invites filmmakers, visual anthropologists and independent authors to submit films that explore the many forms of popular medicine and
traditional healing practices. Films that narrate, document, or critically reflect on: traditional medicines and local therapeutic systems; herbal knowledge and knowledge related to medicinal plants; healing rituals and spiritual practices; healers, healers, shamans, midwives, and custodians of traditional knowledge; relationships between folk medicine and scientific medicine; intergenerational
transmission of healing knowledge; intangible cultural heritage and community therapeutic practices; contemporary transformations of traditional medicines;
relationship between health, environment, identity and culture.
