In Piazza Americo Capponi, the collaboration between the pop-up space Edicola Erno and the international streaming platform MUBI comes to life, allowing people to sip cappuccinos, eat cornetti, and immerse themselves in thought-provoking film analysis.
This streaming service is a film distributor and online cinephile community specializing in auteur, independent, and art-house cinema. What sets the platform apart is its tightly curated, editorially selected catalogue in place of an overwhelming library of thousands of titles.
MUBI FEST is one of the platform’s physical manifestations. A young but rapidly growing global festival, it celebrates independent cinema, music, and contemporary visual culture across multiple cities each year. As a community-driven alternative to larger film festivals, it offers curated premieres, Q&A sessions, short films, live sound experiences, and editorial programming. The Rome edition, held from 14 to 16 November 2025, embedded this ethos into the city’s cultural fabric with screenings at Cinema Quattro Fontane and Forum Theatre, and a dedicated space at Edicola Erno.
“As cinephiles we like coming to film festivals, and the MUBI fest was an exciting opportunity that we couldn’t miss,” say students studying cinema in Rome, enjoying the free breakfast provided by Edicola Erno.
The pop-up is a cultural micro-space in Prati. Once a newsstand, it now functions as a hub for curated independent design, featuring magazines, art books, fashion, and niche objects. It invites visitors to linger, explore diverse visual languages, and reconnect with the materiality of print.
“Here you can buy Notebook magazine, which is all about cinema culture. There’s also a special edition for MUBI FEST, featuring interviews with directors and articles on film culture in different cities, like Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires,” explains Valentina, who works at Edicola Erno.
During the festival, Edicola Erno showcased MUBI’s exclusive merchandise and gave visitors the chance to explore the platform’s editorial project, Notebook. The Magazine, is released semi-annually and described as “a print-only magazine devoted to the art and culture of cinema. Created, prepared, and published by MUBI.” Each issue is thematic, design-forward, and conceived as a collectible object.
Within the context of a festival like MUBI FEST, Edicola Erno serves as both an intellectual companion and a gateway to collectible artefacts, enriching the event by seamlessly connecting screenings, community, and print culture into a single, finely tuned experience.
“I got a poster of Die My Love—I hope to watch it soon in the theatre or on MUBI,” the student adds, beaming as she shows off her new collectible.
Valentina highlights the unique opportunities Edicola Erno offers for events like MUBI FEST: “It’s a shared space where you can meet new people, everyone gathers in the little plaza, and it creates a really nice atmosphere.”
In the plaza, the festival’s spirit comes alive in small, joyful moments: people flip through MUBI’s magazines, linger over breakfast pastries and cappuccinos, and laugh together over articles that catch their eye. Friends challenge each other with film quizzes, strangers strike up conversations about favourite directors, and the air hums with a shared enthusiasm for cinema. In this way, Edicola Erno transforms from a pop-up space into a vibrant communal hub—where print, conversation, and the love of film converge, making MUBI FEST not just an event, but a lived, social experience.
