Beneath the desert dust lie stories that can transform the way we see the past. This is the enduring fascination of archaeology: turning an excavation into a compelling narrative and scientific research into a journey through vanished civilizations. That spirit captivated audiences at the 17th Aquileia Film Festival, the international festival dedicated to archaeology and cinema, held from 28 July to 4 August 2026, where Luis Miranda's documentary "The Assyrian Empire. History Revealed" won the festival's top prize.

The film follows two remarkable archaeological missions working in Iraqi Kurdistan: a German expedition and, above all, the Italian mission led by Professor Daniele Morandi Bonacossi of the University of Udine, which has spent years protecting a cultural heritage threatened by war and destruction. Set against spectacular landscapes and monumental rock reliefs, the documentary retraces the rediscovery of the vast irrigation system commissioned by the Assyrian king Sennacherib between the eighth and seventh centuries BC, one of the greatest hydraulic engineering achievements of the ancient world. The Italian team is now completing an innovative open-air archaeological park that will make these extraordinary rock carvings accessible to the public for the first time.

Organized by the Fondazione Aquileia in collaboration with Archeologia Viva and Firenze Archeofilm, the festival once again proved its international appeal, drawing packed audiences and thousands of online viewers from across Europe, the United States, Canada and Argentina. Second place went to "Underground Rome: A Metro Through History", exploring the archaeological discoveries made during the construction of Rome's metro system, while "The Mystery of the Desert Kites", investigating the enigmatic stone structures scattered across the Middle East, came third.

The festival continued to blend archaeology, cinema and culture, from accessible screenings of classics by Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder to documentaries exploring Aquileia and the living traditions of Friuli Venezia Giulia. A programme that reminds us the past is never truly distant, it is a living story that continues to speak to the present, inspiring wonder and offering new ways of understanding the world.


The festival continues on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August, thanks to its collaboration with INCinema – Outside, bringing two timeless cinema classics to the big screen in Aquileia: "Rear Window" by Alfred Hitchcock and "The Seven Year Itch" by Billy Wilder. Both films will be screened in their original language with Italian subtitles, in fully accessible versions, and admission is free. On Monday 3 August, the Aquileia Film Festival continues with the out-of-competition screening of "Aquileia and the Lost Christianities", a documentary by Massimo Garlatti Costa. The festival concludes on Tuesday 4 August with "What Remains", Marco D'Agostini's documentary exploring the living ritual traditions of Friuli Venezia Giulia, followed by an interview conducted by Paolo Mosanghini, journalist and deputy editor of Messaggero Veneto, with writer Elena Commessatti, author of "Aquileia, una guida" (published by Odos). She will also present her novel "Il tempo delle viole" (Newton Compton), which intertwines the lives of three young women in an Italy entering a new century, balancing modernity and tradition, the hardships of work and the desire for emancipation.