L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano Continued from page 22 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY "An innovative Made in Italy is accompanying the Italian TV's renaissance: talented artists and international productions have contributed to commercially suc- cessful and critically acclaimed television series." Italian General Consul Silvia Chiave underlines. "I am sure that the IITV Festival, that showed the capacity to seize this moment to promote the Ital- ian TV's quality and excellence, will be a great success that will last over time and will open new scenarios for bilateral collabora- tions in the audiovisual." As founding partner Marco Testa, the president of Armando Testa Group, says, "The main reason for my participation is not strictly related to my work. I am an 'emotion booster' – always fascinated with the way Italian talent communicates emotions, in America and around the world. Which is exactly what this Fes- tival wants to do, while promot- ing and supporting Made in Italy products." "The Italian TV Festival in Los Angeles is an excellent opportunity to highlight Italian TV series and increase the amount of attention they receive in the land of the most powerful serial television production," says Eleonora Andreatta, director of Rai Fiction. "The festival is beneficial for connecting with the leading players in global distribu- tion on large-scale international co-productions, such as Medici, My Brilliant Friend and The Name of the Rose." An hour-long panel titled Opening Boundaries, led by writer-director-producer Peter Landesman (Concussion), Nils Hartmann, director of original production at Sky and Martha De Laurentiis, president of De Lau- rentiis Company, kicked off the afternoon. Nils Hartmann, Sky Italia's Original Production Director, says: "In ten years of original productions Sky mapped out a path, which we are proud to be able to present at the ITTV Festi- val – a new and exciting platform to talk about new opportunities and challenges for Italian TV productions. With Gomorrah we made a local story, able to touch the imagination of the interna- tional audience. We're finally looking at the US TV and streaming market as offering equal opportunities, and no longer as something distant and unreachable." Writer-director- producer Landesman discussed why such Italy-centric stories are so appealing to American audi- ences. Meanwhile, De Laurentiis talked through her decision to shift her production company from film to television as small- screen shows have amped up their quality in recent years. In its innovative format, the festival showcased productions by independent Italian filmmak- ers: The Muslim Other, by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara, Italian politics 4 Dummies, by Claudio Canepari and Davide Parenti, That click by Luca Severi, Mila by Cinzia Angelini, Complexion by Lia Giovanazzi and Marianna Beltrami, and Outside by Loris Lai and Dahlia Heyman, with Jared Harris. The British actor was the highlight of the event and of this year Emmy's edition, thanks to his role in HBO mini series Chernobyl, that got him a nomination for best actor. Who is behind this new festi- val? Good Girls Planet, an agency founded by Valentina Martelli, Francesca Scorcucchi and Cristina Scognamillo with the goal to promote and showcase Italian audiovisual and TV prod- ucts. GGP wants to be the go-to agency for those who aspire to enter the US and international markets at a time when interest in Italian TV content is growing thanks to the world of streaming video-on-demand TV. The agency will also facilitate rela- tionships between American pro- duction and distribution compa- nies and their Italian counter- parts. "Italy has great locations where international production can find fertile ground, they have great tax credit, they have all the elements and stories that are rele- vant internationally," Martelli says. "The festival will effective- ly advertise Italy to Hollywood veterans as a fertile ground for production." From left to right: Francesca Scorcucchi, Cristina Scognamillo, Martha De Laurentiis e Valentina Martelli From left to right: Logan Laurice Browning, Claudia Oliva of the Liguria Film Commission, Cristina Bolla, president of the Liguria Film Commission, Riccardo Baldini, Stefania Spampinato and Luigi Bacialli, president of the Veneto Film Commission

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