MIA is defining its identity as a well-established hub for the audiovisual market, and it has gained an increasingly stronger positioning among the international events of its kind. To what extent have the worldwide success and the promotion of Italian TV series influenced the expansion of MIA?
I think that the international market can appreciate the way in which the Italian producers, distributors are organized. And I think that ANICA and APT are two main players in this very important market. Because this is a very important way to share experiences, productions, ideas, contracts, and all the fields that can certainly make not only the Italian market but also the international market stronger.
Cattleya, Fremantle, Lux, and Palomar, are some of the production companies with a strong international appeal which have led to the increasing presence of Italian TV series in the market. But they are not the only ones, as medium and smaller companies have greater and greater chances of expansion with challenging international projects. Now that TV series have become a “premium” content for any broadcaster and OTT platform, could you give us the full picture of the new trends of Italian drama series production?
Now, it is not easy to give you a full trend of the Italian dramas and production, since it is extremely wide. This means that we have thrillers, legal thrillers, comedies… There are really a lot of genres, as well as historical TV series. I was just thinking the Umberto Eco’s very famous book Il nome della rosa. There are also international stories. As for example the project that is going to be produced by Palomar on the figure of Gadafi. And so many other kinds of products. What makes the Italian product really, I think, strong and actual is the fact that it is really opening to all the fields, to all the stories and all the genres. And in this case, I can say that it is something unique because there is a taste of the Italian stories, but certainly, now they are focused much more on the international market.
You used the expression ‘Italian Renaissance’ when talking about Italian TV series. Besides a renewed and empowered creative production capacity, do you believe that there is also a resurgence of talent?
Yes, I think so. Now, ‘Italian Renaissance’ can mean many things, it can make you think about the past. I could think about the historic renaissance, at the Medici period, but at the same time about the renaissance of our productions, and this is the right meaning. Certainly, directors, actors, all the main subjects that are working on the Italian productions are certainly stronger and famous, and highly professional. So this means that now the Italian product is able to compete with all the European and international productions.
As the president of APT, which strategies do you think that could be used to boost even further the audiovisual sector from a legal and fiscal perspective?
Now certainly, the first important issue to consider is what happened in Italy in the last two years. Now some new laws, decided in the past government, certainly allow, and give a lot of new opportunities, not only to the Italian producers but also to the international producers. One of the most important ones is that connected with the tax credit. This means that there is a possibility for those investing in Italy to have up to the 30% of fiscal advantage when investing in our products. So, I think that this is a very important decision, and this decision is helping a lot the Italian producers but, at the same time, it is allowing a lot of international ones to come in Italy and to produce with our teams. And in certain cases, as it has happened in these last years, it is also allowing them to acquire or to start some equities with Italian production societies. This means that the Italian production is becoming certainly much more European, and this is a very good signal for all of us.
What are the objectives of APT under your presidency?
So, certainly, the first thing is to believe and let all the market believe in the strength of the Italian productions and to do so, certainly, we have to be not only very creative, as we are, but at the same time reliable and very important on the field of the international productions. Now, what’s happening in the world, in Europe and Italy, is that the product is always much more global than it used to be at the times. In Italy, until a few years ago, the product was very local, very domestic. Now, something has really changed, and what APT can do, and strives to do, is to help all the producers to have a strong relationship with all the international market so that new projects can start in the right way and with importantly big opportunities. We are all working on these opportunities and we know that the Italian producers are able to do this very well.
