RUKELI, the animated short film directed by Alessandro Rak, has been selected for the MaTiFF – Matera International Film Festival 2026, taking place in Matera from September 26 to October 4.

The screening will take place on October 3 at 7:30 PM at the CineTeatro Comunale Gerardo Guerrieri. Alessandro Rak is also the artist behind the official cover image for this year’s edition of the festival.

Now in its seventh edition, the festival has built its identity around the encounter between cinema and other artistic languages, bringing together moving images, music, visual arts, theatre, dance, architecture and literature.

The theme chosen for the 2026 edition, “Mediterranean, Reflection of the World,” accompanies a programme that looks at the Mediterranean as a space of movement, conflict, memory and transformation, opening the festival to works from different contexts and perspectives.

Within this framework, RUKELI brings to the screen the story of Johann “Rukeli” Trollmann, a Sinti boxer persecuted by the Nazi regime.

Through the language of animation, Alessandro Rak’s film transforms his story into a narrative of identity, discrimination, dignity and resistance, bringing renewed strength to a story that continues to question the present.

RUKELI’s participation in the Matera International Film Festival marks another step in the short film’s journey and a new opportunity to meet audiences within a context that is particularly attentive to the dialogue between cinema, art and society.

We are happy that RUKELI continues its journey in Matera, within a festival that brings together different languages, cultures and perspectives on the contemporary world.

Follow all updates on RUKELI at antropica.org