22/10/2014 - 811 accredited visitors, including 295 buyers, 104 world sales agents and 246 producers from 52 different countries

The 2014 Rome International Film Market, the space the Rome Film Festival devotes to professionals in the film industry, closed yesterday (21 October) with very positive results: 811 accredited visitors, including 295 buyers, 104 world sales agents and 246 producers from 52 different countries, turned the Hotel Bernini Bristol and the Via Veneto into the "home" of the Italian and international film industry.

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The 9^th Business Street (TBS) has as its International Consultant Massimo Saidel, and is coordinated by Francesca Palleschi with the collaboration of Markus Duffner. New Cinema Network (NCN) is coordinated by Alexia De Vito with Annalisa Donnarumma and Camilla Donghi. The 2014 edition registered a 30% increase in the number of international participants (from 394 in 2013 to 513 in 2014), a 35% increase in buyers (from 218 in 2013 to 295 in 2014) and a 14% increase in world sales (from 91 in 2013 to 104 in 2014), thereby achieving an excellent balance between supply and demand.

100 screenings of films took place in spaces reserved exclusively for professionals in the field, and 120 films were available for viewing through the customized on-demand system of the digital Video Library, created with the support of RAI Com. The Business Street brought back to Italy a Market event that has the power to draw international operators and has become part of the virtuous circle of events that from Berlin to Cannes punctuate the rhythm of film production and distribution. With its supple structure and informal atmosphere, TBS offered a valid alternative to traditional trade shows, confirming its status as a consolidated and constructive event, a valid alternative platform for all the operators in the industry, who have found here serious and qualified counterparts to engage with. It is no coincidence that the Rome International Film Market is one of the few Italian initiatives funded -  since 2008 - by Creative Europe's 'Access to Market'. Thanks to the operational support of ICE - Italian Trade Agency, which since the very first edition has believed in the potential of this initiative, the Market has been an exceptional showcase for the circulation of Italian cinema abroad, and an effective tool to encourage international cooperation on projects in production.

The 2014 Market consolidated the project Remake.it!, inaugurated last year, which offered producers and buyers stories with strong appeal that can communicate globally with audiences around the world. The 29 films in the selection were presented in a special section of the Video Library at The Business Street. 

After the fruitful experience of China Day organized during the past edition, the dialogue with the Chinese film industry continues. In collaboration with ANICA, the agency responsible for the enactment of the 'Made in Italy' promotional project developed by the Ministry for Economic Development, together with The Business Street and ICE - Italian Trade Agency, for the MiSE in agreement with the MiBACT, the China Day this year brought to term a process designed to bring the two film industries closer together, with a programme conceived as an exchange of content, entrepreneurship, and co-productions for the audiovisual market, which in China is witnessing a remarkable acceleration in terms of internationalization and the domestic box office. To the Chinese request to open to European markets, the Italian industry responded by presenting its co-production projects over a two-day stretch, ending with the Italian-Chinese Forum organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Italia Cina and dedicated to the fundamental theme of China Day.

Another new feature of the ninth edition is the partnership with Ass.For.SEO, for the first edition of 'Italian Film Boutique by Movie UP - Roma/Lazio Cinema Days for International Buyers', an initiative funded by the Regione Lazio - Assessorato alla formazione, Università, Scuola e Ricerca - POR FSE 2007-2013, in collaboration with the Roma Lazio Film Commission.

IFB was created with the intent to export and sustain "the Italian touch", with the purpose of renewing and consolidating the presence of Italian films on the major world markets and in the overall industry scenarios, offering a new appeal for international circulation.

A delegation of 20 international professionals - buyers, distributors, network directors, and world sales, were the guests of the IFB to discover new Italian cinema. IFB offered them the possibility of viewing a selection of 20 titles from the most recent production of feature films produced, shot or sold by professionals in the Lazio Region. 

To respond to the needs of producers and distributors who wish to extend their understanding of the most recent economic models and seek new possibilities for international cooperation, The Business Street chose to pay particular attention to the cinema and the film industry of Argentina and Brazil, guest countries of the Industry Focus Argentina - Brazil, which brought to Rome a prestigious delegation of directors, producers, distributors, and institutional representatives from the two nations. As a valuable opportunity for networking, this 'trilateral' meeting between Argentina/Italy/Brazil, featured a debate on the new opportunities for artistic and commercial cooperation between the Italian audio-visual industry and that of the two South American countries.

Facts and figures

811 accredited visitors
295 buyers
104 world sales
246 producers from 52 countries
100 screenings
120 titles in the video library