MATIFF 2026: Matera Becomes a Global Village for the New Cinema

From September 26 to October 4, the seventh edition of the Matera International Film Festival brings together 815 works from 57 countries, independent cinema, leading international figures, masterclasses and the new MAMA – Matera Film Market. Artistic Director Valentina Castellani-Quinn: “Matera can become a bridge between different worlds and help draw a new map for the future of cinema.”

MATERA - Not simply a festival where films are presented, but a place where the world of cinema can come together, exchange ideas and shape its future. This is the ambition behind the seventh edition of MATIFF – Matera International Film Festival, taking place from September 26 to October 4, 2026, with the Mediterranean chosen as this year’s central theme and narrative horizon.

Under the presidency of Leonardo Fuina and the artistic direction of Valentina Castellani-Quinn, MATIFF strengthens its international vocation with a program combining arthouse and independent cinema, premieres, industry meetings, masterclasses, literature, music, art and civic engagement. The numbers already reflect the Festival’s growing international dimension: 815 works from 57 countries, divided across seven competitive categories, ranging from feature films and documentaries to short films, animation, screenplays, music videos and advertising.

Castellani-Quinn: “Less red carpet, more hands-on”

At the heart of the 2026 edition is a clear vision: to transform Matera into a working and meeting place for international cinema, prioritizing professional relationships and the development of new projects over the purely social side of the festival experience.

“My commitment as Artistic Director of MATIFF 2026 has been to build a truly international film festival, inspired by the original spirit of the Sundance Film Festival, with which I collaborated in the United States, where I have lived and worked as a film producer for the past thirty years. A festival less focused on red carpets and more ‘hands-on,’ dedicated to independent cinema, screenwriting, production and distribution, creating meaningful connections among filmmakers, producers, distributors and major players in the international film industry.

“In an industry that is deeply fragmented and constantly evolving, Matera and MATIFF aim to serve as a bridge between different worlds: a place to meet, develop collaborations and build new projects. Matera’s unique intimacy allows us to create a true global village of cinema, capable of helping draw a new map for the future of filmmaking,” says Valentina Castellani-Quinn.

The concept of a “global village of cinema” is one of the defining elements of the new MATIFF: harnessing Matera’s extraordinary and intimate scale to bring together professionals who would normally meet only at major international film markets, creating a more direct environment where collaborations can emerge between Europe, the United States, the Mediterranean and new territories in the global audiovisual landscape.

From Sergio Castellitto to James Conlon: Nine Days of International Cinema

The Festival will open on September 26 with Sergio Castellitto, who will take center stage on opening night with Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Star Maker (L’uomo delle stelle), selected to introduce the Mediterranean as a space of encounters, identities and cultural exchange. Castellitto will receive the MATIFF “Acqua del Cinema” Award. Nicola Claudio, Chairman of Rai Cinema, is also expected to attend.

The international jury will be chaired by Deirdre Hopkins, Head of Feature Films at BAFTA, joined, among others, by Gary Shapiro, producer and former Senior Vice President at Sony Pictures, and American actress and producer Julie Carmen.

The program spans different generations and cinematic traditions. Masterclasses with Sergio Castellitto and Alessandro Gassmann are scheduled, while Lina Sastri will present the short film La mancanza.

A special tribute will honor Robert Redford, featuring a screening of The Milagro Beanfield War in partnership with Universal Pictures and attended by Julie Carmen. The international selection also includes The Present by Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, winner of the 2021 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film and nominated for an Academy Award that same year.

Also on the program is Jihan K’s My Father and Qaddafi, followed by a conversation with the director, while Antonio Capuano will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and, together with Teresa Saponangelo, present Il buco in testa.

Among the other announced highlights is the world premiere of Matt Routledge’s The Awakening, starring Kevin Spacey and presented by producer Matt Hookings, as well as the Italian premiere of Ramin Niami’s Fade Away.

MAMA: The Film Market Becomes Part of the Festival

One of the central pillars of MATIFF’s new identity is MAMA – Matera Film Market, led by CEO Alberto Festa, an internationally renowned marketing executive, and taking place from September 27 to 29.

Rather than a parallel event, MAMA serves as the Festival’s industry arm: a program of meetings, panels and masterclasses designed to connect writers and producers with professionals working across international production, distribution and marketing.

Announced participants include professionals from organizations and companies such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, BAFTA, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Arab News Network, Publispei and Archivio Storico Luce.

MAMA will also introduce IDEA’MATER – Authors’ Forum, a platform dedicated to developing new audiovisual content and connecting writers, producers, broadcasters, institutions and territories. Its scope extends to the technological transformation of the industry, from artificial intelligence and immersive media to cultural gaming and new forms of interactive storytelling.

Producer and executive Gary Shapiro will lead a masterclass focusing on production processes and the dynamics of the film industry, while Hollywood screenwriter Gary Hoffman will lead a session dedicated to screenwriting. Other prominent participants include Hans Fraikin, Lichelli Lazar-Lea, Alberto Festa, Riccardo Romani, Enrico Bufalini and writer Giorgio van Straten.

Cinema, Literature, Art and Memory

MATIFF 2026 also expands its narrative beyond the screen. The program includes Dacia, Vita mia – Dialoghi Giapponesi, dedicated to Dacia Maraini, and Il mestiere di vivere, dedicated to Cesare Pavese, alongside a series of literary encounters.

On the twentieth anniversary of Oriana Fallaci’s death, the Festival will dedicate a special event to the writer and to the international theatrical project Fallaci – A One Woman Show, featuring Edoardo Perazzi, Fallaci’s nephew and curator of her archive, and renowned Hollywood screenwriter Gary Hoffman.

Art and spirituality will enter the program through Il Cantico del Mediterraneo, a project curated by Felicia Cigorescu, patroness of this year’s edition, involving symbolic locations throughout Matera and works by international artists. These include an exhibition by Marco Klee Fallani and Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Il Terzo Paradiso, connected to MATIFF’s journey for peace across the Mediterranean.

The Grand Finale: James Conlon, Cinema and Dialogue

On October 3, the Festival will celebrate conductor James Conlon, former Music Director of the Opéra national de Paris and LA Opera and currently Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles company, with the Don Rossino–Vivaldi Lifetime Achievement Award.

In his honor, MATIFF will present James Conlon: Between Italian Roots and American Wings, a documentary written and directed by Edoardo Zucchetti.

On the same day, the international panel A Drop of Hope will explore cinema’s role as an instrument of dialogue, testimony and social transformation.

The closing day on October 4 will continue the dialogue between art, cinema and spirituality with a screening of Aldeas, The Final Dream of Pope Francis, a documentary co-directed by Martin Scorsese, Johnny Shipley and Clare Tavernor, built around Pope Francis’s final in-depth video interview.

The seventh edition therefore marks another significant step in MATIFF’s evolution: Matera not simply as a setting for international cinema, but as a place where the industry can come together and imagine what comes next.

Ultimately, this is the challenge embodied by Castellani-Quinn’s idea of a “global village of cinema”: transforming Matera’s intimate, human scale into a strength—a place to build relationships, generate new projects and create new bridges for international cinema