Amidst the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival, at the Italian Pavilion inside Cannes’s Majestic Hotel, Matera International Film Festival (MATIFF) Artistic Director Valentina Quinn presented the festival’s seventh edition, scheduled to run from 26th September to 4th October 2026.
The press conference on Friday 15th May also marked the debut of MAMA – Matera Market, a premier new global marketplace designed to connect independent filmmakers with top-tier producers from the USA, UK, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia.
Sharing the grand vision for MATIFF’s future was an esteemed panel featuring founder and president Leonardo Fuina, Artistic Director Valentina Castellani-Quinn, and incoming jury president Joyce Pierpoline, director of the BAFTA Awards. The panel also highlighted the industry expertise of film consultant Hans Fraikin and cultural councillor Simona Orsi, with actress Ester Pantano—last year’s festival ‘godmother’—elegantly introducing the high-profile gathering.
Drawing on her background in Los Angeles and the rich cinematic heritage of her family—most notably legendary actor Anthony Quinn—Valentina Castellani-Quinn intends to strip away modern Hollywood vanity at the Matera International Film Festival. Her aim is to capture the authentic, independent spirit of the early Sundance Festival and plant it firmly in Italy’s historic heart.
“My vision for MATIFF is to bring cinema back to its roots,” Castellani-Quinn said during the press conference. “Much like the early days of Sundance, where I collaborated for years, we want a festival focused purely on the art of storytelling, not the noise of the red carpet. Matera may feel like it’s in the middle of nowhere, but it is the perfect canvas for filmmakers to dream together.”
Matera’s new marketplace: redefining independent cinema in Italy’s historic heart
Dating back an astonishing 10,000 years, Matera stands as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. As film industry veteran Hans Fraikin humorously remarked during the conference: “It’s about time they have a film festival”.
Fraikin, who brings decades of elite global experience from Hollywood’s 20th Century Fox to prestigious film councils in Canada and Abu Dhabi, is lending his formidable expertise to the MATIFF team to launch MAMA – Matera Market.
“Throughout my career, I have seen hundreds of independent film festivals inject vast amounts of capital and press into their launches, only to fail because they lack the business engine to sustain them,” Fraikin explained. “A festival provides the glamour, but the market is where the deals are struck. That is the exact gap Valentina and Leonardo are filling. This is the Mediterranean ‘Davos’ of film.”
Unlike traditional Italian markets like the Venice Production Bridge or Rome’s MIA—which strictly require filmmakers to already have 70% of their production budget secured in the bank to participate—MAMA takes a radically supportive approach. The market will cater directly to writers and directors who possess brilliant projects but are still building their initial cast and foundational backing. Designed from the ground up for high-level deal-making, it will feature highly curated “speed-dating” sessions to seamlessly connect global co-producers, sales agents, and distributors.
In a groundbreaking international coup, the festival has also secured an exclusive partnership with the American Film Market (AFM).
“Recognising that many emerging talents struggle to navigate such powerful institutional landscapes, the AFM leadership will personally travel to Italy to help launch this initiative,” Fraikin noted on Friday. “This creates a highly accessible, creator-focused industry hub designed to connect raw global talent directly with powerhouse production companies.”
The Mediterranean: a mirror to the world
The chosen theme for 2026 is ‘Mediterranean, Mirror of the World’—an image that serves as a profound cultural and political metaphor, designed to reflect on the Mediterranean as a space of memory, identity, migration, and future possibilities. This thematic thread naturally intertwines with Matera’s candidacy for Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, further elevating the international standing of the historic Lucanian city.
Alongside the competitive categories for feature films, shorts, documentaries, and animation, the festival is expanding its educational branch. This will introduce writing and screenplaying workshops alongside panels covering filmmaking, film marketing, and distribution. This framework is specifically tailored to the next generation of filmmakers, equipping them with practical tools and rare opportunities for direct engagement with the global industry giants.
Furthermore, the ‘A Drop of Hope’ initiative will return, dedicated to fostering intercultural and interreligious dialogue through cinema, reaffirming the festival’s profound civic and humanitarian core.
During the Cannes conference, two symbolic accolades for the 2026 edition were also presented: the MATIFF Excellence in Film Artistry Award 2026 was bestowed upon visionary director Pan Nalin, while the Luchino Visconti Lifetime Achievement Award honoured Alberto Barbera, the esteemed Artistic Director of the Venice International Film Festival.
Reflecting on the festival’s deeper emotional purpose, MATIFF founder Leonardo Fuina concluded: “At 50, I decided I shouldn’t stop dreaming. I wanted to make people dream about our culture, linking Venice, Cannes, and my home country, Matera, together. Embracing these dreams is essential; they are one of the final beacons of hope alive in our society today, and we must never let them go.”
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Main photo from left to right: Leonardo Fuina, Valentina Quinn, Alberto Barbera and Joyce Pierpoline, by Virginia D’Umas, Monaco Life