Doc Screenings in Venice
Today marked the beginning of a unique occasion for documentary filmmakers to meet foreign buyers as the second edition of the Italian Doc Screenings got underway in Venice on the island of San Servolo. The Screenings last three days, during which 200 new Italian documentaries produced in 2004 and 2005 will be presented to over 30 buyers from the major international television networks (from over 20 countries and 3 continents).
The event was made possible by an agreement (the only such existing agreement in the Italian audiovisual industry) established between the DOC/IT association, the Ministry of Production Activity and ICE (National Institute for Foreign Commerce) for the promotion of "made in Italy" products on the world market. DOC/IT extended the invitation to numerous commissioning editors from European and international networks for a pitching session of documentaries suitable for international co-production. For the first time in Italy, a session will be held for individual meetings between producers and network representatives, as well as a presentation of the 2006 programming slate of the foreign broadcasters present. 14 new projects were selected from the 62 submissions that DOC/IT received.
"Let’s hope this event is a sign to Italian public TV", said Raffaele Brunetti, the DOC/IT representative of the Italian Doc Screenings. "Italy is the only European country with public television that does not produce documentaries. Our documentaries are esteemed abroad and are often sold in dozens to foreign countries, yet they remain invisible in our own country. This is a cultural as well as a commercial and educational battle for us. Unfortunately, we don’t even have delegated mediators: there exists no commissioning editor in RAI, nor a department dedicated to documentary production."
The Italian Doc Screenings will furthermore hold a screening of selected documentaries for the general public and present two national premieres: Caravaggio. L’Ultimo tempo by Mario Martone and In un altro Paese by Marco Turco.
(Translated from Italian)
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