MMF 2026: REPLAY/RELOAD/RESPAWN (MARCH 16–22 2026, MILAN, ITALY)
Milan Machinima Festival 2026 returns to Milan. REPLAY/RELOAD/RESPAWN: the ninth edition explores rebirth and reinvention through the videogame loop.
Milan, February 11, 2026 — IULM University will host the ninth edition of the Milan Machinima Festival (MMF) from March 16–20, 2026, with a separate online-only screening program running from March 16–22. Subtitled REPLAY/RELOAD/RESPAWN, the festival considers how game culture is shaped by the notion of the eternal return — replay, repetition, revision, resurrection — bringing together artists, filmmakers, and researchers working across video art, cinema, animation, and game culture.
The 2026 edition presents a dual-format program at IULM: drop-in installations running throughout the week, alongside filmmaker-focused screenings designed as shared sessions, with introductions and discussion. Additionally, as in past editions, the festival will present an online-only screening program of selected works, enabling audiences outside Milan to engage with MMF remotely.
“REPLAY/RELOAD/RESPAWN borrows the language of videogames for starting again and refuses the comfort of a clean slate,” says Matteo Bittanti, founder and Artistic Director. “That speaks directly to a moment when AI compresses the distance between draft and revision, and when culture is rewritten in public, in real time, at the speed of light.”
MMF 2026 features
- continuous video installations (9 am–6 pm, March 16–20)
- filmmaker-focused screenings with artist discussions (2–5 pm, March 18–19)
- online-only screenings (March 16–22)
The full program will be announced in the next few weeks on the festival and IULM websites, including details of world premieres and Italian premieres.
International jury announced
Submissions to MMF 2026 have been evaluated by:
- Marco De Mutiis — Digital Curator, Fotomuseum Winterthur; co-author of The Photographer’s Guide to Los Santos
- Simonetta Fadda — Artist, scholar and author of Definizione Zero, the first Italian study of video art as a political medium
- Henry Lowood — Curator, Stanford University; co-editor of The Machinima Reader
- Jenna Ng — Scholar, University of Queensland; author of Understanding Machinima
- Martin Zeilinger — Scholar and curator, University of Abertay; author of Tactical Entanglements
The jury will award a Critics’ Choice prize for the most innovative machinima.
Poster revealed: Edwin Lo renders rebirth through game engine
The 2026 visual identity is by Hong Kong artist and researcher Edwin Lo Yun Ting. The poster depicts a post-apocalyptic scene: objects from the past gather on a floating platform, while crows move among the ruins of a lost civilization.
“I drew on religious iconography and the theme of light. Paradoxically, lighting is always the hardest aspect of rendering in Unreal Engine,” Lo explains.
A festival rooted in research and experimentation
MMF was founded in 2018 by Matteo Bittanti, following the exhibition GAME VIDEO/ART. A Survey (2016), co-curated with Vincenzo Trione and students from IULM’s MA program in Arts, Heritage and Markets . The 2026 subtitle extends the thematic line developed in the 2025 Los Angeles edition (REBOOT/RESTART/RESET), foregrounding return as both a gameplay mechanic and a broader cultural metaphor.
Free admission
All Milan Machinima Festival 2026 activities are free of charge and open to the public.
Key Information
Milan Machinima Festival 2026 — REPLAY/RELOAD/RESPAWN
Dates: March 16–20, 2026 (in-person); March 16–22, 2026 (online)
How to attend:
- In Milan: Drop in for video installations in loop (9 am–6 pm, March 16–20) or attend curated screenings with artist discussions (2–5 pm, March 18–19). No registration required for installations.
- Online: Selected works available March 16–22 for remote viewing worldwide.
Venues:
- Contemporary Exhibition Hall, IULM 6 (continuous installations)
- Sala dei 146, IULM 6 (curated screenings and discussions)
Address:
IULM 6, IULM University, Via Carlo Bo 7, 20143 Milan, Italy
Admission: Free (both in-person and online)
Website: milanmachinimafestival.org
Full program: To be announced shortly on the festival website, with previews at iulm.it
Press contacts:
IULM University Press Office: redazione.web@iulm.it
Milan Machinima Festival: milanmachinimafestival@gmail.com
Note to editors:
High-resolution photography, the 2026 poster, interviews, and additional information are available on request.
Social media:
Twitter/X: twitter.com/machinima_fest
Instagram: instagram.com/milanmachinimafestival