JU N E/ JU LY 2 0 1 0 This year Prix Italia will kick off its traditional fall TV festival activities September 19-24 in Turin, Italy. Now in its 62nd edition, the festival cum conference is organized by RAI, Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster. Prix Italia’s venue, which rotates among the country’s historic cities, will return to Torino for the second year in a row, and will be coming back to the city in 2011 as well. The event will once again play host to a variety of activities, including a competition for radio, TV and Web programming and RAI’s new autumn TV season’s previews. This year, the festival will be based out of three venues — RAI headquarters, Radio Edifice and the Arturo Toscanini Auditorium — and will be open to the public. Screenings will also be held in the Teatro Gobetti. Prix Italia boasts a membership of 90 radio and television broadcasters from 48 countries. New to the organization this year are two Italian broadcasters, La 7 and Radio 24, as well as representatives from two new foreign countries: Mexico and Egypt. Regarding attendance, Mara De Angelis, the association’s press consultant, said, “We are expecting to have 500 attendees, between jurors, delegates from our 90 international members, panelists for the meetings, Italian and foreign press and observers.” Where the competition is concerned, three prizes will be awarded for radio, three for television, and one for the Web. The Web Prize, which honors the best website related to a radio or TV program, became a permanent category in 2000. Seven international juries made up of directors, producers, broadcasting executives and academics will judge the submissions, of which there are 244. In previous years, Prix Italia laurels have gone to such entertainment greats as Federico Fellini, Werner Herzog, Samuel Beckett, Ingmar Bergman, Harold Pinter and many other historical notables. As a supplement to the regular competition, a handful of special prizes will also be awarded. The Special Prize Offered by the President of the Italian Republic, which made its debut in 2004, will recognize a TV program that examines social issues affecting women, younger generations or the underprivileged. Another Special Prize centers on the theme “Communication for Life — Programs That Bring About Social Change,” and will be awarded to a show that deals with economic, social and political realities in emergency situations. Finally, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, a Special Prize, exclusive to the 2010 edition, will honor a documentary, docu-drama or drama that best portrays the image of Italy to the world. In addition to the competition, attendees can look forward to a variety of panels, meetings and seminars featuring industry professionals. Notable speakers and panelist will include Paolo Garimberti, chairman of RAI; Christy Carpenter, executive vice president and COO at the New York City-based The Paley Center for Media; Welsh director Peter Greenaway; Italian composer Roman Vlad; Eva Hamilton, director general of Sweden’s SVT and Prix Italia president; Tunisian Slaheddine Maaoui, director general ASBU, Arab State Broadcasting Union based in Tunis. Seminars will be based around the theme of Prix Italia 2010, which is “Future Preview.” According to organizers the theme will address “information sources and new technologies.” Panels that will tackle the technology theme include “The New Frontiers of Television and Media,” which will be held Thursday, September 23, and include presentations by the RAI Research Centre and the Politecnico di Torino applied science facilities. Additionally, an international meeting on Wednesday, September 22, titled “Sources of Information — Plurality, Reliability and Responsibility” will raise questions about the reliability of information and news in the Internet age. Prix Italia won’t be all serious discourse, though. A number of screenings, premieres and cultural activities promise to keep the mood celebratory. The evening of Monday the 20th will be dedicated to director Peter Greenway, the winner of the 1991 Prix Italia prize. The director’s award-winning film, TV Dante, will screen that evening. Wednesday night, the National RAI Symphony Orchestra conducted by British Maestro Sir Andrew Davis will liven up the opening ceremony. Other evening celebrations throughout the week will pay tribute to famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman as well as French actress Isabelle Adjani with screenings of their work. The event will close on the evening of Friday, September 24 with the presentation of winning programs, which will be broadcast on RAI 1. P r i x I t a l i a The World’s Oldest TV Fest Gets All Charged Up Pictured on top: the National RAI Symphony Orchestra performing at the 2009 Opening Ceremony. Pictured above: Toscanini Auditorium set up for the event. Above: SVT’s Eva Hamilton. Below: the Gobetti theater, one of the Prix venues. V I D E O • A G E 18
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5