Italian press agency askanews has published an article about Rukeli, the animated short directed by Alessandro Rak and produced by AntropicA, which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti Corti – Out of Competition section.

The film tells the true story of Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, known as Rukeli, a Sinti boxer who won the German national title in the 1930s before being persecuted by the Nazi regime, deported, and killed in the Wittenberge concentration camp. Today, his story stands as a symbol of resistance and dignity.

Born from an idea by the association Chi rom e… chi no and part of the European project TRACER, Rukeli developed through workshops in Scampia with Roma youth and students of the ITIS Galileo Ferraris. Their daily experiences of discrimination intertwined with historical memory, creating a collective work that blends testimony, education, and cinema.

Produced by AntropicA in co-production with Sideways Studios and Film i Väst, in association with Mad Entertainment, in collaboration with Rai Cinema and supported by the Campania Film Commission, Rukeli is distributed by Premiere Film.

Thanks to askanews for shining a light on this story: memory becomes cinema, and cinema becomes resistance.