ANICA (Italian Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Italian Audiovisual Producers Association) together promote the research 'Italian series and films on foreign markets: circulation and economic value', realized in collaboration with the research institute eMedia and with the support of ITA-Italian Trade Agency within the framework of the MIA | International Audiovisual Market 2023.
The data were illustrated in Rome, at the Cinema Barberini, by Emilio Pucci, researcher specialised in audiovisuals and founder of eMedia, in the presence of the Senator Roberto Marti, of the ITA President and General Director Matteo Zoppas and Lorenzo Galanti, ANICA President Francesco Rutelli and APA President Chiara Sbarigia. The aim of the meeting was to highlight - through the analysis of current trends and the main factors influencing them - the relevance of the audiovisual industries for the economic and cultural development of the country and for the perception of Italy abroad.
The data show that international co-productions play a fundamental role, being actually the first driver of foreign circulation of Italian audiovisual titles. Considering, in fact, the average values for the three-year periods 2017-2019 and 2020-2022, there was a 51% increase in the number of works made together with foreign producers, with a significant increase in the number of countries involved in this type of activity: 25 per year in the 2020-2022 three-year period, against 16 in the 2017-2022 three-year period.
In the three-year period 2020-2022, the total value of foreign contributions (from minority and equal producers) for film and TV works reaches €103 million, +49% compared to €69 million recorded in the three-year period 2017 -2019.
Overall, and on the basis of continuously updated data, it is estimated that the number of Italian series and films produced in 2022 with some foreign circulation will be between 183 (minimum estimate) and 203 (maximum estimate), for a total export-related value of between €106 million (minimum estimate) and €156 million (maximum estimate), a clear increase compared to 2017 figures, when foreign circulation was worth almost only one third of the current value.
The research represents in numbers, therefore, a phase of great development given by the coexistence of four factors which, between 2017 and 2022, led to a growth in production volumes and foreign circulation: The increase in demand for securities worldwide; the entry into the market of global VoD operators, who have taken on an important role in the production of fiction, documentary and animation series and films; the Tax Credit, extended (since 2017) to video-television productions and then strengthened following the Covid-19 pandemic; the entry of foreign capital onto the market which pushed national companies into a context of broader and more intense international relations.
The study, however, warns of how the impact of these four elements will physiologically tend to reduce in the coming years. Discussions between stakeholders and institutions will be fundamental in order to continue to support the strengthening of the production and distribution capabilities of our industry and to encourage the growth of the economic and cultural value that the national audiovisual sector can bring to Italy in the international contest.