RAI Cinema boosts investment by 20%, supports young filmmakers
RAI Cinema is celebrating 10 years of activity and, during a moment of economic crisis, has announced increased investment in cinema, new initiatives for young filmmakers and a merger with 01 Distribution.
"Our investment in the production of new films, which in the last three years amounted to approximately €40m per year, will increase 20% in the next three-year period, to about €8m more per year," said Paolo Del Brocco, managing director of RAI Cinema, during a meeting with the film industry and press this morning.
Del Brocco also announced that RAI Cinema will allocate €2.5m over the next three years to 12 low-budget films by young filmmakers, to be released through alternative distribution channels, and perhaps even theatrically. "From 2011 it will also be possible to directly propose projects, film stories and screenplays through our website,” added Del Brocco.
The third announcement was the merger between RAI Cinema and its holding 01 Distribution, which will become a division of RAI Cinema. "This merger will not change our business model, but it will foster the consolidation of a lucrative synergy,” explained Del Brocco.
Showing sensitivity for the current dramatic situation – i.e., the cuts to public funding in cinema and the fact that the government did not renew tax incentives – Del Brocco stated RAI Cinema’s support of a renewal of the tax credit: "We will leave to producers the entire quota of the external tax credit. And until we will use all other non-television funding sources until the operating tax is implemented".
RAI Cinema, which shares the national film production duopoly with Medusa Film, which belongs to the Berlusconi family, boards projects as a minority co-producer "using TV rights as financial leverage to close production budgets,” said Del Brocco.
In 10 years of activity, RAI Cinema has contributed to the making of 303 films, of which 87 were debut features and 50 documentaries, with over 200 production companies and 322 directors, with an overall investment of €425m. 01 has distributed 240 films, 130 of which were Italian, for a total of 75 million admissions and €440m grossed at the box office, €245m of which for Italian films. This marks a significant contribution for domestic cinema, which has seen its local market share rise over the last decade, from 17.5% (2000) to 27% (2010).
(Translated from Italian)
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