ICFF Closes 15th Anniversary Edition with Record 68,000+ in Attendance and Over 300,000 Visitors Festival-Wide

Patrick Dempsey and Ornella Muti headlined a closing gala, La città proibita takes home the ICFF Jury Award and I Swear scores the Lavazza IncluCity Jury Prize.

Toronto, Thursday July 23, 2026 — ICFF wrapped its 15th anniversary edition this weekend with the largest numbers in the festival’s history: programming and events attendance surpassed 68,000, up from 61,000 last year, while overall participation and foot-traffic across the festival’s 25 days of programming topped 300,000.

Held over 25 days across Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, this year’s edition of the Lavazza IncluCity Festival, presented by Rogers, combined a lineup of over 50 films, concerts, two unique exhibitions and soccer watch parties timed to Toronto’s build-up to hosting matches.

Online, ICFF generated over 2M views on its accounts, and registered 30k+ interactions across social media over the course of the run.

“What happened this year went beyond even our own expectations for the festival and for the city. Between the festival programming and the World Cup, it was an explosion of emotion, with numbers we’ve never seen before, and an event lineup that grew to embrace every community,” said Cristiano de Florentiis, Co-Founder & Executive Director of ICFF. De Florentiis concluded, “We’ve found ourselves becoming Toronto’s festival of the summer.”

Crowning the incomparable 2026 edition was the black-tie closing gala at TIFF Lightbox, followed by dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. The signature “On the Couch With” conversation, presented by Canadian television personality Roz Weston, this year was dedicated to Patrick Dempsey, the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated Grey’s Anatomy star, who received the ICFF Icon Award and closed the night to a standing ovation. Adding to the significance of the evening, Italian fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli also sent a video tribute for the occasion, dedicated to the Hollywood actor.

Ornella Muti was also the guest of honour that night and a protagonist of the closing celebrations in the Distillery District, receiving a dual honour cementing her status as one of the most timeless and influential Italian actresses in cinema: the ICFF Lifetime Achievement Award and the ICFF Ambassador of Italy Abroad recognition. Muti was reunited with one of her own iconic on-screen dresses from Il Bisbetico Domato, featured in the festival’s Fashion Frames exhibition, hosted in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura a Toronto, which paid tribute to costumes from the golden age of Italian cinema alongside more recent iconic pieces.

The closing weekend also carried the official announcements of this year’s film awards. The ICFF Jury Prize went to Gabriele Mainetti’s La Città Proibita (The Forbidden City), decided by the 2026 jury composed of directors Antonio and Marco Manetti (US Palmese), Yuri Tuci (Siblings), Francesco Costabile (Familia) and Fred Kudjo Kuwornu (Autumn Beat).

The film, part of the Italian Screen program promoted by DGCA-MiC and coordinated by Cinecittà, also served as ICFF’s opening night selection, honouring both the festival’s Italian legacy and its 2026 country of honour, China. Also celebrating the success of Mainetti’s film, lead actress Yaxi Liu received the ICFF Best Actress honour during opening night in Toronto for her outstanding performance and the incredible martial arts skills she brought to the role.

The Lavazza IncluCity Jury Prize went to Kirk Jones’ I Swear, chosen by a jury headed by Enrico Ballarin (The Devil Wears Prada 2) with Jeff F. King (Umbrella Academy), Rebecca Karch (Los Frikis), Meg Otanwa (The Weekend) and Jessica Martins (Juliet & Romeo).

Coming instead from audience feedback, the coveted People’s Choice Award went to La Grazia (Grace) by Paolo Sorrentino for ICFF, to The Rivals of Amziah King by Andrew Patterson for the Lavazza IncluCity Festival, which earned a perfect score and post-credit applause from the audience during its Canadian Premiere at the Distillery District.

Also announced were ICFF Best Actor, going to Toni Servillo for his role in La Grazia, and Best Director, going to Gabriele Muccino for Le cose non dette (Things We Don’t Say). For the Lavazza IncluCity Festival, Best Actor went to Mads Mikkelsen for his role in Den sidste viking (The Last Viking), followed by Best Actress, bestowed upon Angelina LookingGlass for her role as Kateri in The Rivals of Amziah King and Best Director, given to Anthony Marciano for Le rêve américain (The American Dream).

The festival also presented its ICFF Excellence Award to Benedetto Habib, producer at Indiana Production, who joined the festivities for the kick-off of Industry Days. An extraordinary Excellence Award was also bestowed to Bianca Tse, for her remarkable achievements and work in the AiRTIFICIAL VISIONS exhibition.

The Best Documentary award went to You Are Here: A Come From Away Story by Moze Mossanen. ICFF Best Production for 2026 was awarded to the team behind Il viaggio degli eroi (The Journey of the Heroes). Winner of the Best Short went to Vital by Amir Zargara.

The festival once again stood out as the must-visit event of the summer with a footprint extending across the Distillery District through activations from the Lavazza Lido and photobooth, Rogers pop-up, the Barilla tasting hub, a Ferrero-sponsored foosball park, Rio Mare sampling, G Adventures hot-air balloon, Philips Hue interactive livingroom and the festival’s Cinebar featuring Masi and Don Julio drinks.

With the closing of the AiRTIFICIAL VISIONS exhibition on Wednesday, July 25, the festival officially concludes all its activities. Hosted at Illuminarium Toronto, the exhibition drew hundreds of attendees over its run and also served as the venue for a series of special events from foosball championship games to panel discussions exploring the dialogue around AI and beyond.

Fifteen years in, ICFF has cemented its place as a staple festival for its diversity and its cultural impact for Toronto, a fixture the city has come to expect, and one that keeps setting the bar higher for itself.

ICFF will return for more events later in 2026, and in 2027 for its 16th edition.