Private Project

Mediterranean

Mediterranean to see, sings Mango and it is from this song that the animation director Alessandro Rak pays homage to the Mediterranean with a man with a free and poetic soul who oscillates between past, present and dream.

  • alessandro rak
    Director
  • PINO MANGO
    Writer
  • RIVA Dei Ginepri Production
    Producer
  • MAD ENTERTAINMENT
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mediterraneo
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Music Video, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 19, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    36,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    English, French, Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    NUMERIQUE
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • RIVA DEI GINEPRI
    Distributor
    Country: Italy
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - alessandro rak

Alessandro Rak (Naples, December 22, 1977) is an Italian cartoonist, animator, and director.
His best-known work is the film The Art of Happiness (2013), of which he is the director and co-writer together with Nicola Barile, Paola Tortora, and producer Luciano Stella.
He lives and works in the Spanish Quarters of Naples; he studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome.
Together with Andrea Scoppetta, Alessandro Rak formed the animation studio Rak&Scop in 2001, creating a fruitful artistic partnership that in a few years produced not only animations but also comics, studies, demos and character designing for various production houses. He made the video Looking Death Window (10') winner of the CYLECT International Price and the first prize at the 6th International Festival of Film Schools in Mexico City (1999), the video for Kanzone su Londra by 24 Grana (2001), the video for La paura dei Bisca (2004) and the short film Va' for the Med Video Festival in Paestum (2005)[2]. Among his comics: Ark for Grifo editions (2004); Zero or One (2005) and Bye bye jazz (2006) for Lavieri editions, A Skeleton Story for GG Studio editions (2007).
In 2013 Alessandro Rak directed the animated film The Art of Happiness, starring Lucio Allocca, Leandro Amato, Silvia Baritzka, Francesca Romana Bergamo, Antonio Brachi and co-written and produced by Luciano Stella for BIG SUR in collaboration with Mad Entertainment, Rai Cinema and Cinecittà Luce. The film, previewed to the public at Lucca Comics & Games 2013, won the Premio Arca Cinema Giovane, Premio Fedic and Premio Best First Work at the Raindance Festival in London.
It also received the "Best Animated Film" award at the European Film Awards in 2014. In 2017 he shot the animated film Gatta Cenerentola in collaboration with Ivan Cappiello, Marino Guarnieri and Dario Sansone.
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Alessandro Rak (Napoli, 22 dicembre 1977) è un fumettista, animatore e regista italiano.
La sua opera più conosciuta è il film L'arte della felicità (2013), di cui è regista e co-sceneggiatore insieme a Nicola Barile, a Paola Tortora e al produttore Luciano Stella.
Nipote del critico letterario Michele Rak, vive e lavora ai Quartieri Spagnoli di Napoli; ha studiato presso il Centro sperimentale di cinematografia.
Insieme con Andrea Scoppetta, Alessandro Rak ha formato lo studio di animazione Rak&Scop nel 2001, creando un proficuo sodalizio artistico che in pochi anni ha prodotto non solo animazioni ma anche fumetti, studi, demo e character designing per varie case di produzione. Ha realizzato il video Looking Death Window (10') vincitore del CYLECT International Price e del primo premio al 6° International Festival of Film Schools di Città del Messico (1999), il video per Kanzone su Londra dei 24 Grana (2001), il video per La paura dei Bisca (2004) e il cortometraggio Va' per il Med Video Festival di Paestum (2005)[2]. Tra i suoi fumetti: Ark per Grifo edizioni (2004); Zero or One (2005) e Bye bye jazz (2006) per Lavieri edizioni, A Skeleton Story per GG Studio edizioni (2007).
Nel 2013 Alessandro Rak ha diretto il film d'animazione L'arte della felicità, interpretato da Lucio Allocca, Leandro Amato, Silvia Baritzka, Francesca Romana Bergamo, Antonio Brachi e co-sceneggiato e prodotto da Luciano Stella per BIG SUR in collaborazione con Mad Entertainment, Rai Cinema e Cinecittà Luce. Il film, presentato in anteprima al pubblico di Lucca Comics & Games 2013, è risultato vincitore del Premio Arca Cinema Giovane, Premio Fedic e Premio Miglior Opera Prima al Raindance Festival di Londra.
Inoltre ha ricevuto il premio "Miglior Film d'Animazione" agli European Film Awards nel 2014. Nel 2017 ha girato il film d'animazione Gatta Cenerentola in collaborazione con Ivan Cappiello, Marino Guarnieri e Dario Sansone.

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Director Statement

Mediterranean to see», sang Mango in one of his most famous songs, Mediterranean, Mediterranean to eat and to discover. Ten years after his death, it is precisely with this song that i wanted to pay homage to the singer-songwriter, creating an animated video clip produced by the animation Factory Mad Entertainment and Riva Dei Ginepri Production.
The idea of ​​this video is to pay homage to the extraordinary landscape of the Mediterranean. Rather than chasing a plot, I decided to focus the short on a single character and his relationship with the places. A shipwrecked soul that moves between past, present and dream. A free, poetic soul. A man dressed in white adrift in the sea. His mind retraces the memories of past journeys: Mediterranean visions and enchantments. A lost soul that seems to want to abandon itself to the waves and begins to sink".

Images in motion like the sea current, a world half unreal. And then oranges, mountains, white villages along the coast, to follow and illustrate. This deep immersion opens to the encounter with a gigantic and prosperous female divinity, the very soul of the Mediterranean. It is this divinity that saves him from the waves and relaunches his journey towards the dreamlike and spiritual flight. This encounter with the mother goddess is alternated in the editing with a different version of the fate of the protagonist, who is found and saved by a boat of migrants. A simple plot, if not "nonexistent", that opens to the possibility of imagining, exploring, getting lost to be saved by a Junoesque Mediterranean mother!