Italy will be the Country in Focus at the European Film Market, running this year from Feb. 15-21. One of the major producing hubs in the world with a long history of excellence, Italy is now going through a production boom driven by a rising global demand and a generous tax credit, capable of attracting massive foreign investment across fiction, documentary and animation.
According to the report on the circulation of Italian movies and series published by Italy’s Motion Picture Assn. (ANICA) and the local TV producers’ association (APA) in December, the total value of foreign contributions for both TV and film productions grew by 49% in the period 2020-2022, totaling $111 million from $74.5 million in the years 2017-2019.
Ahead of the busy EFM days, Variety caught up with Italian exec Roberto Stabile, head of special projects, directorate general for cinema and audiovisual-ministry of culture at Cinecittà.
“Over the last few years, there has been great focus on backing the internationalization of Italy’s audiovisual sector. We’ve made available a series of financial tools — each provided with a substantial budget — which allowed Italy to play a greater role in all international markets,” Stabile says.
“This positive outlook has also been confirmed by the recent ANICA-APA research. All of these provisions put in place by the directorate allowed Italian audiovisual content to more than double their circulation.”
Zooming in on the topic of circulation, the ANICA-APA report reveals that 183-203 Italian movies and series benefited from some kind of foreign distribution in 2022. Meanwhile, the export value for Italian productions was estimated between $114 million and $168 million, which marks a steep increase on 2017 figures, when the segment was worth about one third of those totals.
The two main financial tools driving this growth, Stabile says, are the Fund for Minority Co-Productions and the Film Distribution Fund. The first fund, worth $6.4 million, supports Italian outfits’ participation as minority co-producers in international projects, helping them to widen their range of partners and markets. The second fund, worth $2.3 million, backs foreign distributors who acquire Italian movies and aim to release them in theaters and on online platforms in their respective countries. Each distributor can receive $54,000 for a theatrical run, or $16,000 for an online release.
“Therefore, each Italian movie comes to foreign markets with a $70,000 grant made available to local distributors. Very often, when distributors need to board a European movie, they first look at the [support] tools made available by the production country. So [thanks to this fund], Italian movies ended up being on the radar of distributors who used to buy French, German or Spanish titles, and increased their circulation,” Stabile explains.
The exec adds that the Film Distribution Fund and all the other tools in place are set to be strengthened in the near future, as they are reviewed on a yearly basis and may be adjusted in line with the market’s response.
Moreover, a recent initiative under the spotlight of this year’s EFM will be Italian Screens, organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Accademia del Cinema Italiano, which hands out the David awards every year and is the country’s equivalent of the Academy in the U.S.
“The project consists of using all our diplomatic offices — including institutes of culture, consulates and embassies — as true platforms for Italy’s audiovisual content.
When one of these missions accepts to join the project, we set up a commercial presentation showcasing some Italian movies, hand-picked among the David nominees. Next, we organize some ticketed events open to local audiences, which also serve as test screenings for the industry reps in attendance. And, of course, we make them aware of the incentives we offer when it comes to acquiring Italian movies,” he says.
For the time being, the budget of Italian Screens consists of $1.3 million and is set to run until 2026. “It’s a first step to move towards a sort of Unifrance-like model,” Stabile sums up.
Italia Country in Focus Events
From Feb. 16-20, the EFM will host a series of events as part of the Italia Country in Focus initiative.
The first one, kicking off on Feb. 16, is held at the Martin Gropius Bau. “The Film and Audiovisual Funding in Italy event is an institutional presentation of what the Italian audiovisual market can offer to foreign players. When we speak to them, we focus on three main pillars,” Stabile says.
“First, we introduce to them the support measures linked to circulation. Second, we zoom in on the development of co-productions. We tell them why they should co-produce with our firms, how our market works, and we list all the potential incentives and benefits of co-producing. Third, we promote Italy as a place for filming. We inform them about our national and regional funding opportunities, what film commissions can offer and our manpower’s excellence,” he adds.
At 5 p.m. on Feb. 19, the Gropius will host a special event, titled Celebrating Connections and organized by Cinecittà and the Ministry of Culture, which Stabile bills as “a new way of presenting Italy’s audiovisual system and its excellence,” which aims to “make our young [filmmakers and workforce] known to foreign markets.”
Stabile highlights that select reps will attend each event and share their industry insights, instead of filling the program with several institutional presentations.
The Gropius Bau will host one of the other buzzy events in the calendar on Feb. 16, namely the Italian Independent Producers Presentations, during which outfits such as 9 Muse, Dado Production, Dispàrte, Graffiti Doc, Interlinea Film, Jump Cut, KAMA Prods., Officinema Doc and Piano B Produzioni will introduce their projects to potential co-producers and financiers.
On Feb. 17, the Visitors Get Together event will welcome producers with no prior experience of co-production. They will receive access to informative sessions, pitches and networking platforms. The Italian companies in attendance are Amartia Film, Antropica, Bloom Media House, Elsinore Film, TCB and Zena Film.
The next day, the Books at the Berlinale event will consist of a moderated presentation of 10 brand-new novels with screen adaptation potential. After the pitching session, producers will be able to get in touch with the rightsholders. Later, Wanted Cinema CEO will take part in a panel titled “Zone of Interest: Distribution Trends for Online Releases,” which will explore how to build effective release strategies in tune with new audience demands.
Feb. 19 will open with “Past Forward: Giuseppe Tornatore’s ‘Il Camorrista’ Reborn.” The Berlinale Series session will take a closer look at the curious case of the Oscar-winning director’s debut feature, starring Ben Gazzara as a notorious Camorra boss. Shot in 1985, the movie was expanded into a five-part series, which was never aired. Minerva Pictures CEO and President Gianluca Curti will talk through the show’s restoration process, which was supervised by Tornatore himself.
Later in the afternoon, Italian animation will take center stage, highlighting what Stabile says is “one of the easiest genres to export, and one of Italy’s top sectors” and allows producers “to access farther, harder markets” in a smoother fashion than documentary and fiction. The session, titled Successive Learnings: Entering the Territory of Indie Animation and organized in collaboration with the Annecy Film Festival, will see the participation of three producers, including Lucky Red founder and president Andrea Occhipinti.
