The private festival is held annually (usually in October) at the Centre Culturel de Bonlieu, in the town of Annecy, in the middle of France.
The competition, first organised in 1985, is supervised by a jury of cinema professionals who have met every year in Annecy since then.
During the 90's, many famous filmmakers came to Annecy, such as the Taviani brothers, Francesco Rosi, Ornella Muti and Alberto Lttuada.
In addition to the main competition, some programs dedicated to a specific Italian region were created.
Annecy Cinéma Italien is now the biggest cultural event dedicated to Italian cinema in France.