A journey through words, images and evocative moments.
The preview of the seventh edition of the Matera International Film Festival (MATIFF) takes place in Riva dei Ginepri, Marina di Pisticci.
This event symbolically marks the start of the run-up to the festival, scheduled for 26 September to 4 October 2026, and introduces the theme chosen for this edition: “The Mediterranean: a reflection of the world”, dedicated to the sea as a meeting place for cultures, shared memory and dialogue between peoples.
The star of the evening is Antonio Monda, writer, university lecturer and cultural journalist, who will present his latest novel Una mattina gloriosa (Mondadori), the final instalment in his saga dedicated to twentieth-century America. Through its pages, Monda recounts a century of great transformations, weaving together personal stories and collective history in a reflection on the human condition and the search for meaning.
The author will be in conversation with Felicia Cigorescu, art curator and human rights activist, in a discussion focusing on the relationship between literature, art and memory. The event will be opened by Rita Orlando, general director of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation and head of the programme for Matera, Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, with a reflection on the value of culture as a means of connecting communities and territories.
The event will be further enhanced by the unveiling of the sculpture “Conversione” by Mimmo Centonze, a work previously exhibited in Matera as part of the travelling exhibition Museo della Follia, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. For this occasion, the work will be presented in a new setting, entering into dialogue with the landscape and the Mediterranean horizon, in a striking interplay between contemporary art and nature.
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