Chiara Sbarigia and Benedetto Habib
The fourth edition of the Audio-Visual Producers Summit concluded in Merano, after bringing together over 200 key figures from the international audiovisual sector from July 21 to 23 to discuss the ongoing structural changes within the industry.
On Tuesday evening, the Maximo Awards were presented to three high-quality TV series that best portrayed the beauty and identity of the Trentino-Alto Adige region.
The Maximo Excellence Award for the series “Curon” was presented by Chiara Sbarigia, President of APA, and accepted by Benedetto Habib, Partner and Producer at Indiana Production.
The Maximo Excellence Award for the series “La farfalla impazzita” was presented by Monica Tonus, Executive at ICE – Italian Trade Agency, and accepted by Matteo Levi, CEO of 11 Marzo Film.
The Maximo Excellence Award for the series “Von Fock” was presented by Antonio Lampis, Director of the Department of Italian Culture and Economic Development of the Province of Bolzano, and accepted by Markus Frings, CEO of Movie.mento.
The final day concluded with the panel “The Serious Business of Being Funny: Comedy in AV Productions,” focusing on the key role of comedy productions. The discussion explored the potential of humor as a popular genre capable of addressing complex themes while engaging broad audiences. The panel featured Verdiana Bixio, Owner & CEO of Publispei; Mike Farah and Joseph Farrell, respectively CEO and Producer & Partner at Funny or Die; and Jordana Mollick, Producer & Partner at Semi-Formal Productions. The panel was moderated by Gary Lucchesi, Partner & Producer at PGA.
A networking lunch followed, attended by Daniel Frigo and Hugh Collier – respectively Country Manager Italy & TIG, Head of Studio Distribution Italy and VP Head of Finance at The Walt Disney Company Italy; Michele Zatta, Head of International Co-Productions at Rai Fiction; Daniele Cesarano, Head of Drama at RTI Mediaset; and Davide Nardini, Head of Scripted Originals at Amazon Italy.
The AVPSummit is organized by the Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi (APA), promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI), ICE, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, IDM Film Commission Südtirol, in collaboration with the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and with the contribution of PFX, Forst, Merano Tourist Board, Caroma, and Cantina Merano.