equipped spaces at Lumsa University, located near the Vatican. According to Macchitella, a former RAI program manager, an impressive showing of TV executives from many countries are expected to attend screenings of some 14 hours of Italian TV drama production, which he termed “a significant success since we are just starting it this year.” The Screenings will feature the best in recent Italian drama programming (including series, miniseries and TV movies) that was broadcast in Italy between September 2008 and June 2009. The main objective of the new event is to engage attendees enough to further stimulate their interest in Italian productions. “Italian fiction needs to become more aggressive on the international arena,” commented Macchitella, “and we are hopeful that this will happen with new stories, new actors and more competitive production values. We hope that the TV executives who will be attending the Screenings will begin to appreciate [Italian drama] and start thinking of how it can work for their TV networks.” A series of pitching sessions will be held in the days immediately following the Screenings — July 8-10 — which will serve as meeting points for producers from across the world who are on the lookout for co-production opportunities. Last year’s pitching event brought together 800 producers and creative individuals in 350 sessions of Roma Fiction Fest’s version of “Speed Dating,” which serves to bring creatives together to meet, greet and get down to the business of making television shows. But Fiction Fest 2009 won’t be all about Screenings and pitching sessions. The event — one of the first major initiatives from the newly established Lazio Foundation for Audiovisual Development that is being promoted internationally by the governor of the region, Piero Marrazzo — is all about bringing in new TV business to Rome. In a statement, Marrazzo said: “Fiction represents an indispensable identity factor and, as such, is crucial to promote the Lazio and Italy brands.” During the recent MIP-TV in Cannes, France, Marrazzo explained that 75 percent of Italy’s cinema and television enterprises (some 1,100 companies) are based in Rome and throughout the Lazio region. These employ 27 percent of Italy’s professionals (of these, 150,000 are in Rome). Indeed, TV drama production is so important to Italy that the Foundation saw fit to preview Roma Fiction Fest outside of its scheduled July dates by offering audiences a series of initiatives before the festival itself begins. In late April, the Foundation organized a premiere of one of Italy’s most anticipated productions this year, Pinocchio. This new adaptation of the famed tale was co-produced by Rome’s Lux Vide and London’s Power for RAI division, Raifiction. Following the debut, the full cast of the film sat down in the Conciliazione Auditorium for a chat with would-be Fest attendees. While the television production industry is certainly booming in Italy, more can be done, said Marco Spagnoli, head of Special Events, North America, for Fiction Fest. “The Italian Industry needs to understand what is working and what is not working on an international level,” said Spagnoli, noting how important it is to learn from experiences in the U.S. Spagnoli maintained that the goal of the festival isn’t just to showcase Italian product on a global stage, but also to challenge international broadcasters to determine if there is a place in the global marketplace for Italian drama productions. “Our job is not to provide an answer,” said Spagnoli. “We are just posing the question with the showcase. We’re trying to shine a spotlight on Italy’s best productions and then see what happens after our guests have seen for themselves the quality of Italian productions.” As such, this year’s Fiction Fest will play host to some big American names, including Lost creator, writer and executive producer Damon Lindelof and his colleague, Carlton Cuse, who serves as a writer and executive producer on the hit show. The duo will be receiving the “2009 Roma Fiction Fest Special Award,” a prize awarded to them due to the series’ “new and compelling narrative style.” Said Spagnoli: “The U.S. has the leading TV industry in the world and we want to follow its example.” Aside from Lindelof and Cuse, Fiction Fest will also welcome Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles ( City of God), who will speak about television production, as well as other international guests whose names will be revealed at a press conference to be held prior to the event. In addition to its usual bevy of awards to be presented during the conference’s International Competition, Roma Fiction Fest will also take a look back at the history of television drama with “Mystery in Black-and-White,” a retrospective on the golden era of black-and-white television that was organized in collaboration with RaiTeche (RAI’s archives division). Roma Fiction Fest 2008 drew 40,000 attendees, including 4,000 TV professionals and members of the press from all over the world. One hundred ninety-four titles from 24 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. Similar numbers are anticipated for this year’s edition. Companies expecting to make a splash at the event include RAI and Mediaset. “We want to be like the L.A. Screenings,” said Macchitella, “and not in competition with MIP-TV and MIPCOM. We hope to serve as a venue where TV executives can screen our fiction and weigh its value to their TV schedules.” V I D E O • A G E JU N E 2 0 0 9 (Continued from Cover) Roma Fiction Fest 18 From l. to r., Marco Spagnoli, Giorgia Zacchei, Steve Della Casa, Gaia Tridente and Fabrizio Accatino Teatro Adriano Multiplex Cinema Actress Kim Cattrall with Marco Spagnoli Carlo Macchitella withVideoAge’s Dom Serafini
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5