Castellinaria - Festival del cinema giovane

Name

Castellinaria - Festival del cinema giovane

Legal name

Castellinaria Association

Website

https://castellinaria.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Castellinaria is a Swiss non-profit association that runs an annual international youth film festival in Giubiasco since 1988, serving schools, families, and young filmmakers through competitions, workshops, and the CastellinClasse streaming platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival & Cultural Events

NAICS

Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Youth film festival
• Film education
• Cultural events
• Streaming for schools
• Short film competition

Headquarters

HQ city

Giubiasco

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Individual tickets sold for film screenings at CHF 15 (adults) or CHF 10 (discounted). Family tickets available at CHF 5 for children under 12. Schools pay CHF 4 per student.
2. Festival Passes: Season passes sold at CHF 120 (adults), CHF 80 (students/AVS), CHF 75 (Film club members), CHF 50 (Friend of the Festival members).
3. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees: CHF 80 for individuals, CHF 120 for legal entities. Members receive discounted festival passes and invitations to opening/closing events.
4. School Subscriptions: Annual CastellinClasse streaming subscription at CHF 100 per school, giving all teachers at the school access to streaming content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Castellinaria organizes an annual international youth film festival held each November in Giubiasco, Switzerland, featuring film competitions for children (ages 6-15), young adults (16+), and short films, alongside workshops, cultural events, and educational programs. The festival also operates the CastellinClasse streaming platform launched in November 2024, which provides schools with curated films and teaching materials, plus the Casa Pantrovà residency program for audiovisual screenwriters.

Product overview

Castellinaria is an annual international youth film festival based in Bellinzona, Switzerland (founded 1988), operating as a single unified event with multiple integrated products and services. The core offering is the festival itself, featuring competition sections for Kids (ages 6-15), Young (16+), and Castellincorto short films, plus the Piccola Rassegna for young children. Supporting offerings include CastellinClasse (a streaming platform launched November 2024 for school-based film education), Workshops & Conferences (including Pitching Lab and stop-motion workshops), Casa Pantrovà residencies for audiovisual writers, and a year-round decentralized program extending to other Swiss cantons and Northern Italy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CastellinClasse: Streaming platform for schools launched in November 2024, offering Swiss and international films, short films, themed workshops and teaching materials for all school levels from nursery to secondary school. Annual fee of CHF 100 per school.

Products and services

• Castellinaria Festival Annual international youth film festival featuring competitions for children (6-15), young adults (16+), short films (Castellincorto), and out-of-competition screenings, along with workshops and conferences. Targeted at young audiences, families, filmmakers, and the general public in the Swiss Italian region and beyond.
• CastellinClasse Streaming Platform Online streaming platform dedicated to schools offering Swiss and international films, short films, themed workshops, and teaching materials for all school levels from nursery to secondary school. Designed for schools and teachers as an audiovisual education tool.
• Castellincorto Short Film Competition Short film competition featuring selections of films up to 15 minutes from film schools worldwide or addressing youth themes. The official jury awards the Daniel Prize and the audience awards the Audience Award.
• Kids Competition Competition featuring international feature films (minimum 60 minutes) adapted for children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 years. Evaluated by the Kids Jury which awards the Golden Castle (Castello d'Oro).
• Young Competition Competition featuring international feature films (minimum 60 minutes) aimed at young audiences from 16 years and older. Evaluated by the Young Jury which awards the Three Castles (Tre Castelli).
• Piccola Rassegna Festival section dedicated to introducing young children (ages 5-8) to cinematic language education through quality films whose themes are associated with animation exhibitions and workshops.
• Workshops & Conferences Educational workshops including film criticism, film analysis, stop-motion animation for teachers, and Pitching Lab for professionals, offering participants the opportunity to discover filmmaking techniques and learn from industry professionals.
• Casa Pantrovà Residencies Three annual residencies dedicated to audiovisual writing, hosted in Carona, awarded to selected screenwriting projects through a competitive selection process. Recipients for 2026 include Diego Benzoni, Samuela Lepori, and Anna Simonetti.
• Membership Program Annual membership program with fees of CHF 80 for individuals and CHF 120 for legal entities. Members receive discounted festival passes and invitations to opening and closing events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Streaming platform gained approval of numerous teachers throughout Switzerland within months of launch

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, main sponsor and minor.

• Casa PantrovàcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2024Annual residency program for audiovisual screenwriting. Castellinaria collaborates with Casa Pantrovà in Carona to award three residencies to selected screenwriting projects. Recipients include Diego Benzoni, Samuela Lepori, and Anna Simonetti for 2026.
• AG Event Battagliamain sponsorOthersMain sponsor of the Castellinaria Festival del cinema giovane.
• BookineacoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline ticketing platform provider for the festival. Allows credit card purchases and voucher redemption with QR code delivery for direct auditorium access.
• Locarno Film FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Swiss film festival partnership. Both festivals serve Italian-speaking Switzerland and collaborate on youth cinema initiatives.
• Ticino Film CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional film commission supporting film production in Ticino. Collaboration on Location Ticino exhibition and film tourism initiatives.
• Switzerland Film CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational film commission supporting film production across Switzerland.
• Fantoche - Festival internazionale del film d'animazioneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational animation film festival in Baden, Switzerland. Collaboration on animation-focused programming and youth film education.
• Museo del cinema di TorinominorGTM or Marketing PartnerItalian cinema museum partnership for cross-border cultural exchange.
• Cineteca ItalianaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerItalian film archive partnership for cultural programming.
• CIIPminorOthersListed as partner organization on festival links page.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Cinécole: French platform dedicated to bringing cinema into schools via streaming and pedagogical materials. Most directly comparable digital-product peer to CastellinClasse in the educational film space.
• Into Film: UK charity supporting film education for young people, including streaming access to curated films for schools. Comparable as an educational film-distribution and cinema-literacy platform with school membership model.

Direct peers

• Chicago International Children's Film Festival: North America's largest competitive festival for children's and youth cinema. Directly comparable in mission and competition structure, including age-segmented juries and filmmaker outreach.
• Buster Film Festival: Danish international film festival for children and youth. Comparable youth-focused programming model with international shorts, educational elements, and school-targeted screenings.
• Schlingel International Film Festival: International film festival for children and young audiences held in Chemnitz, Germany. Directly comparable in audience (youth) and competition structure, with similar international jury awards and educational programming.
• Fantoche - International Animation Film Festival: Swiss animation film festival based in Baden. Listed as a minor partner of Castellinaria, with overlapping focus on youth-oriented film programming and animation workshops for schools.
• Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film Festival: Polish international film festival dedicated to young audiences in Poznań. Closely comparable model: feature and short film competitions segmented by age, jury made up of young viewers, plus educational programs.
• Zlín Film Festival: One of the oldest film festivals for children and youth in the world, held in Zlín, Czech Republic. Directly comparable in niche focus, age-segmented competitions, and accompanying educational programs.

Broad incumbents

• Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival: One of the world's leading film festivals with a dedicated Generation section for young audiences. Not a direct competitor but a benchmark in how major festivals integrate youth programming alongside Castellinaria's specialist positioning.
• Locarno Film Festival: Major Swiss film festival also serving Italian-speaking Switzerland. Locarno is a direct neighbor and core partner of Castellinaria, but operates at much broader scale with the Generation section overlapping Castellinaria's youth focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Castellinaria1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/CastellinariaFestivaldelcinemagiovane
• Facebookfacebook.com/castellinariafestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/castellinariafestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/castellinaria---festival-del-cinema-giovane

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Castellinaria - Festival del cinema giovane