Rome hospital hosts simultaneous screenings for the sick and their families.

The 2019 Rome Film Fest, which runs from 17-27 October, will screen select movies from its official line-up at the city's Gemelli hospital for the third year in a row.

Reserved for in-patients and their families, as well as doctors and medical staff,  the films will be screened simultaneously with the movies shown at the Auditorium Parco della Musica.

The Gemelli hospital has had its own cinema since 2016, accommodating 130 viewers including patients in wheelchairs and beds, as part of a therapeutic approach to respite care.

The hospital's cinema has a bi-weekly programme of screenings dedicated to making its patients feel better, on Tuesdays for all patients and on Thursdays for the paediatric wards.

The movies from Rome Film Fest have been "carefully chosen for a very special audience" and the screenings are being held in collaboration with MediCinema Italia Onlus.