EFM 2024: Italy to shine at Berlin with all "Country In Focus" activities

The Italian Pavilion reopens its doors at the 74th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival to become the Italian Cinema House – a professional, cultural, meeting, business, and market space – for the entire period of the event. A physical place and a virtual window for the operators of Italian film industry, and a fundamental badge for Italian productions to be presented to the international arena.

Italy has 8 production and co-production titles in the Festival’s Official Selection, including two films in Competition; a "Shooting Star" – Valentina Bellè – in the special program dedicated to European acting talents; a juror, Jasmine Trinca, within the international competition; and above all, Italy as the main guest of "Country in Focus," a special showcase of the European Film Market that gathers the industry’s operators in one of the most globally followed events.

Thanks to the established collaboration between the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture (DGCA-MIC) and ICE-Agency for the promotion and internationalization of Italian companies, the Italian Pavilion will be located at the Gropius Bau Museum, headquarters of the European Film Market from February 15 to 21. The physical space will be home to professional and institutional meetings, presentations, insights, business, and one-to-one sessions. The official website www.italianpavilion.it will be presented on the European Film Market platform, including a calendar of the Italian film screenings at the Berlinale and the Market and a complete program of all planned events.

COUNTRY IN FOCUS
The initiatives dedicated to Italy are presented in all Market sections in order to promote its audiovisual system as a whole, offer new incentives, encourage co-production agreements with Italy, develop film projects, and provide networking opportunities with producers, distributors, investors, and creatives.

It all takes off on Friday, February 16, with “Film and Audiovisual Funding in Italy,” an important conference to discuss the regulatory landscape and financing systems of the Italian film industry and discover co-production opportunities with the country.
On the same day, the “Italian Independent Producers Presentation” panel presents some of the most dynamic young independent production companies, while the three-part session “Leading Change: Producers at the Wheel” reflects on the evolution of the role of independent producers in an ever-changing market.

The protagonists of Saturday 17 are the producers of the Berlinale Visitors Programme, aimed at developing knowledge and strategies for international co-productions, while a meeting at the Italian Pavilion between Italian producers and a delegation of Colombian and Dominican producers lays the foundations for future international co-production projects.

February 18 sets off with “Cappuccino with Italians,” a traditional rendezvous between Italian Film Commissions and international professionals, followed by the “VFF Talent Highlight Award,” where the best ten producers in the Talent Project Market are presented with an award. On the same day, an in-depth study on artificial intelligence for audience design in documentaries is to take place, while Italy also participates in “Books at Berlinale,” a space dedicated to film adaptations from novels in collaboration with the Berlin Book Fair Frankfurt. Finally, at the end of the day, online distribution trends in the post-pandemic era are investigated in the panel “Zone of interest: distribution trends for online releases.”

On February 19, the main topic is Seriality, a mighty genre for Italy, at the Berlinale Market with the presentation of a restored version of "Il Camorrista - La serie" by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Animation is another main topic: “Successive learnings: entering the territory of indie animation,” (Monday 19), as well as film archives in “Archive Market,” to take place on Tuesday, February 20, thanks to an info corner dedicated to the great heritage of the Archivio Luce, at the presence of Enrico Bufalini, Director of the Luce-Cinecittà Archive.

“Celebrating Connections” is a special event organized by MiC and Cinecittà at “Italia Country in Focus” on February 19. On this occasion, a format strongly wanted by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni and inaugurated last October as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival shall be presented once again to promote Italian audiovisual production abroad and establish new cultural, artistic, and professional synergies with other country-systems. The audience will be “teleported” to an iconic place of Italian cinema, Cinecittà, while young talents with a future in the international industry - including actors, directors, authors, and producers - will take turns on stage.