Sustainability

Biografilm encourages audiences to reach Festival venues on foot, by bicycle, using public transport, or through low-impact car sharing services. The Festival’s main venues are organised according to the walking distance principle, making it easy to move between screenings on foot.

Several sustainable transport options are available for those arriving in the city or travelling between venues:

• By bike: Ridemovi and Corrente
• By bus: Tper
• By train
• Electric car or scooter: Corrente
• Electric taxis: COTABO

Those choosing low-emission transport can benefit from discounted ticket prices: simply keep your ticket, travel pass, or digital receipt to claim a discount at the box office.

Visit the Tickets and Accreditation page to learn more about available discounts.

Find out here how to reach the Festival venues sustainably.

Since 2022, Biografilm has been working to reduce the use of printed materials and non-recyclable media, prioritising digital solutions and lower-impact materials.

The Festival catalogue can be accessed via QR codes available at Festival venues and key locations throughout the city. Printed copies are distributed only upon request in order to avoid waste. The programme and catalogue are also combined into a single publication, printed on FSC-certified paper, to reduce the overall amount of paper used.

In 2025, the Festival reduced the quantity of printed materials by more than 50% compared to the previous year. For 2026, the goal is to continue along this path, also thanks to the new website, digital communication, and incentives for purchasing tickets and accreditations online.

The new website, launched for the Festival’s 22nd edition, makes information more accessible while reducing the need for printed materials through clearer, lighter, and more accessible navigation.

You can contribute too:

• Purchase your ticket or accreditation online;
• Keep your ticket in digital format;
• Consult the online catalogue via QR code;
• Request printed materials only when truly necessary.

Since 2022, Biografilm has been designing part of its Festival installations without references to the specific edition, making it possible to reuse materials from previous years again in 2025.

Atyd, our partner and supplier, created the new installations using FSC-certified cardboard and other easily recyclable materials.

Through its collaboration with the Hera Group, the Festival is committed to ensuring the proper disposal of the materials used.

In addition, for several years Biografilm has invested in reusable supports and structures that can be customised each year without needing to be repurchased.

Separate waste collection points are available at all Festival venues, accompanied by signage and informational materials to help audiences sort waste correctly.

The Festival also promotes Rifiutologo, the Hera Group app that helps users understand how to correctly sort waste materials in the Municipality of Bologna.

Waste collection is monitored by Festival staff and operational coordinators across the different venues. FSC-certified cardboard collection boxes are reused in indoor locations, while waterproof solutions provided by the Hera Group are used for outdoor spaces.

In 2026, Biografilm is further strengthening this commitment through its collaboration with Re-Cig, a company specialised in the collection and recycling of cigarette butts. Dedicated collection units help prevent this highly polluting waste from being dispersed into the environment and allow it to enter a recovery and recycling process.

To limit waste and unnecessary production, Festival kits are distributed selectively, mainly to accredited guests, staff, and volunteers.

The materials are chosen in line with the Festival’s sustainability goals:

• Tote bags made from recycled cotton;
• Lanyards made from recycled PET (R-PET);
• Badges made from recycled PVC or recycled cardboard;
• Essential informational materials.

Whenever possible, leftover materials from previous editions are also reused.

For the Guerrilla Staff, Biografilm also prioritises T-shirts and bags made from organic, recycled, or recyclable cotton.

Biografilm continues its work to monitor its environmental footprint by collecting data that helps estimate the Festival’s carbon footprint with increasing accuracy. In this process, the contribution of the Biografilm community is essential: participation in the sustainability survey allows the Festival to gather information about travel and attendance habits, helping to better measure its impact and improve future actions.

For 2026, Biografilm is also supporting a conservation project in the Venetian lagoon area of Caposile through the purchase of carbon credits to offset 20 tCO₂. The project contributes to the protection of the lagoon ecosystem, the mitigation of climate change effects, and the preservation of biodiversity.

This initiative builds on projects supported in previous years:

• For the 2025 edition, the Festival contributed to the planting of 100 new trees in the Sabbiuno area of the Bologna Apennines, in collaboration with Phoresta;
• For the 2024 edition, Biografilm took part in the planting of 30 olive trees in Salento through the OlivaMi project.

Sustainability also depends on you! Fill in the sustainability survey.

Biografilm promotes a food & beverage offering focused on quality, local sourcing, and waste reduction. The catering service is also guided by more responsible choices, with over 70% of products sourced from the Emilia-Romagna supply chain and a proportionate availability of vegetarian meals alongside non-vegetarian options.

Thanks to the collaboration with the Stoviglioteca of Biblioteca degli Oggetti Leila and Casa di Quartiere 2 Agosto 1980, reusable tableware made of ceramic, steel, glass, or washable rigid plastic is used during Festival events. Drinks are served mainly in glass bottles, carafes, or reusable containers.

The collaboration with Acqua Pura Bologna also continues: for the 2026 edition, three free and unrestricted drinking water dispensers will be available at Festival venues. They are located at Piazzetta Pasolini, the Biografilm Hera Theatre | Pop Up Cinema Arlecchino, and Sympò. The Festival’s other venues have independently installed drinking water dispensers as well, making free potable water available and accessible throughout all Biografilm locations. We also recommend the “Casa dell’Acqua” in Via Azzo Gardino, a public dispenser offering chilled still water (€0.05/litre), lightly sparkling water, and sparkling water (€0.10/litre).

Also for this edition, in collaboration with Acqua Pura Bologna, an informational survey will be shared with visitors to raise awareness about water pollution issues.

The Festival also confirms its commitment to working with suppliers that combine product quality, environmental responsibility, and fair working conditions, such as L’Albero del Caffè, the Festival’s official coffee partner, and Galvanina, the Rimini-based company that has long promoted a production model centred on organic ingredients and environmentally conscious processes.

Biografilm also provides audiences and accredited guests with recommendations for restaurants and food initiatives aligned with the principles of sustainable eating, highlighting alternatives that pay attention to ingredient sourcing, quality, and waste reduction. Accredited guests will also benefit from discounts at participating venues to encourage more sustainable food choices.

Biografilm considers environmental training for staff to be a key element of its sustainability journey. Every year, the Festival promotes learning opportunities aimed at strengthening internal awareness and encouraging the shared adoption of good practices in the organisation of the event.

In 2026, this programme is expanding thanks to the collaboration with EcoMuvi, continuing the work initiated in 2025 together with Phoresta.

The main planned actions include:

• Staff training, with dedicated programmes focused on sustainability, climate change, and environmental practices applied to Festival management.
• Involvement of Biografilm Academy 2026, through an online programme dedicated to the principles of sustainability in cultural and film production.
• Collaboration with EcoMuvi, through a more structured training course tailored to the Festival’s goals and designed to progressively strengthen internal expertise.
• Cinema and awareness-raising, through films and documentaries addressing environmental issues and encouraging dialogue and awareness among audiences.
• Professional sector initiatives, through Bio to B – Industry Days and the EcoMuvi Award, which recognise audiovisual projects committed to sustainability and early-stage works focused on responsible environmental practices.
• Public and institutional dialogue, through a meeting dedicated to the first two years of implementation of the Emilia-Romagna Region’s Environmental Sustainability Guidelines for Film Festivals, promoted together with Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, the University of Bologna, ARPAE, CNA Cinema e Audiovisivo Emilia-Romagna, and AFIC.

The sustainability of the Festival also depends on the everyday choices of those who take part. During Biografilm, you can do your part through a few simple actions:

• Bring a reusable water bottle and refill it at the water dispensers available at Festival venues;
• Reach the cinemas on foot, by bike, using public transport, or shared mobility services;
• Check the available ticket discounts for sustainable travel;
• Purchase your ticket or accreditation online;
• Use digital tickets whenever possible;
• Consult the online catalogue via QR code;
• Fill in the sustainability survey;
• Sort your waste correctly at the recycling stations;
• If you smoke, use the dedicated Re-Cig collection units;
• Whenever possible, choose partner venues and food options that support local sourcing and waste reduction.

Every action matters: making Biografilm more sustainable is a collective journey.