Taormina Film Fest 2026: B2B merch for sponsors, international distributors, hospitality teams, talent and specialised press

Merchandising for sponsors, distributors and hospitality at the Taormina Film Fest 2026

Dates

22 – 28 June 2026 (seven days of screenings at the Teatro Antico, encounters at the Palazzo dei Congressi, parties on the terraces of the circuit hotels)

Main venue

Teatro Antico di Taormina, Via del Teatro Greco 1, 98039 Taormina (ME), Italy

Circuit

Palazzo dei Congressi di Taormina, Cinema Odeon, halls and terraces of the central hotels (Hotel Timeo, Hotel Villa Diodoro, Hotel San Domenico Palace, Grand Hotel Atlantis Bay), the hospitality venues of Taormina and of the Giardini Naxos waterfront, the side-event venues of the Notte di Taormina calendar

Organiser

Taormina Arte, with the collaboration of the Regione Siciliana, the Comune di Taormina, the Città Metropolitana di Messina, the Regional Tourism Department and the trade associations of the Italian film industry (ANICA, ANEC).

The Taormina Film Fest — an international film showcase born in the mid-1950s and grown around the Teatro Antico di Taormina, a Greek-Roman theatre overlooking the sea that remains one of the most recognisable natural sets on the international cinema calendar — is organised every year by Taormina Arte and brings to the city, across seven evenings, an international competition, out-of-competition titles, retrospectives, tributes, special screenings and dawn screenings, alongside masterclasses, encounters and conversations with the protagonists of the festival’s history. Each edition brings to Taormina Italian and international distributors, sales agents, buyers, press desks, talents and management working on both sides of the Atlantic, with side-events moving between the Palazzo dei Congressi, the terraces of the central hotels, the Giardini Naxos waterfront and the venues of the local cultural partnerships.

For Italian and international majors, distributors, corporate sponsors, hospitality teams, specialised press desks and side-event organisers working at the Taormina Film Fest, Corp-Merch.IT coordinates a tailored programme from its Milan operational hub, starting from the receipt of the graphics files of the major, distributor or sponsor, going through the adaptation for the different customisation techniques (silk-screen printing on GOTS-certified organic cotton for the shoppers, hot foil stamping on FSC-certified paper for the programme booklets and the press folders, computerised embroidery for the premium tote bags, laser engraving on walnut wood or on Maniago steel for the top-tier welcome bags) and arriving at the physical pre-production sample, the AQL 2.5 quality check and the delivery to the press room, the hospitality venue, the talent hotel or the Taormina Arte consolidation warehouse. For editorial material and welcome bags addressed to talents we work with partners specialised in climate-controlled transport, so that catalogues, hall programmes and editorial merchandising arrive in pristine condition despite the Sicilian June temperatures.

Invoicing for Italian VAT-registered buyers goes through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) of the Italian Revenue Agency in EUR with 22% VAT, delivered to the Codice Destinatario or to the PEC communicated by the buyer. For editorial catalogues and art material the reduced 10% VAT applies, for books and art publications 5%, in line with current Italian VAT rules. Reverse charge for intra-EU buyers registered with VIES, split payment for public bodies, Codice Destinatario or PEC for electronic invoice delivery. For clients in scope of CSRD reporting (D.Lgs. 125/2024, transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we provide a sustainability sheet per order with Scope 3 CO₂e estimates under the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain on the domestic legs and on the provenances from the named districts, aligned with ESRS E1, E5 and S2.

Festival calendar and Strait logistics

The festival calendar sits between Cannes (May) and Venice (August–September), and the seaside position of Taormina — the Messina coast of the Ionian Sea — shapes the last-mile logistics: direct deliveries to the Teatro Antico must be aligned with the loading windows published by the festival production and the Taormina Arte plan; a buffer at a partner hotel in the historic centre or at our Milan hub lowers the risk of an off-window delivery. June traffic on the A18 Messina–Catania motorway and on the SS114 conditions the deliveries, and in high season (June–August) can be congested; it is often worth pairing the venue delivery with a buffer at a hotel affiliated with the festival in Taormina or in Giardini Naxos, a nearby warehouse in the Catania area, and a second delivery direct to the Teatro Antico within the official set-up window, once Taormina Arte has confirmed the recipient, the gate and the pass. For programmes that span several operating sites (Teatro Antico, Palazzo dei Congressi, hotel terraces, Giardini Naxos waterfront) we prepare separate packing lists per destination with dedicated on-site contact labelling and the evening-by-evening calendar.

Production and logistics towards the Teatro Antico di Taormina

Confirm artwork, edition size, numbering and on-site recipient before launching production. The Teatro Antico di Taormina is subject to very restrictive vehicle-access rules: the cargo gate is manned, the courier access passes are nominal and issued by the festival production in coordination with the superintendent. Loading windows must be cross-checked with the official evening calendar, with the logistics plan published for operators, and with the traffic flow on the SS114 and the A18 Messina–Catania motorway, which in June and at the height of the summer season can be congested. For talent welcome bags and numbered kits addressed to the press specific packing rules apply: single-piece wrapping, per-recipient labelling, dedicated packing list and, on request, alignment with the talent’s schedule (delivery to hotel, dressing room or hall).

For an Italian programme routed via Milan, shipments are consolidated at the hub and forwarded with BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express Italia over 24–48 hours across most Italian postcodes. For deliveries to Sicily we typically propose a primary address at a hotel affiliated with the festival in Taormina or Giardini Naxos, a nearby warehouse in the Catania area, and a second delivery direct to the Teatro Antico within the official set-up window, once Taormina Arte has confirmed recipient, gate and pass. For material requiring climate-controlled conditions (fine fabrics, leather, glass, fine-art prints) we coordinate climate-controlled transport with specialised partners operating between Milan and eastern Sicily. Goods travel with DDT, packing list and origin declaration; for clients in scope of CSRD we include a Scope 3 CO₂e sheet under the GHG Protocol on the Milan–Taormina leg and on the provenances from the named districts, aligned with ESRS E1 and S2. For clients also dispatching during the festival evenings we work with couriers who know the constraints of Taormina’s historic centre (ZTL, narrow streets, heavy-vehicle restrictions) and handle deliveries to hotel terraces with evening windows after 19:00, when heavy vehicles are again admitted in the regulated areas.

Frequently asked questions