Medusa’s Letta: “More films with the tax credit"
"Creating an influx of new resources thanks to third parties will lead to greater invest and spending in film production. We at Medusa have calculated that that when the measure is enacted, we will be able to produce two more films per year". Giampaolo Letta, CEO and vice president of the group that with RAI Cinema shares the most consistent shares of the Italian film market, is satisfied with the imminent introduction of the tax credit (currently being examined by the European Commission).
In a statement to industry publication GiornaledelloSpettacolo.it, Letta added that the results in theatres of the Italian films that screened at Venice film were “very positive”. "All four films in competition have found their audiences, with Mid-August Lunch [+see also:
trailer
film profile] the festival’s biggest hit," he said.
According to Letta, Italian cinema, at nearly one month before the opening of the Rome Film Festival, must capitalise on this moment. "The positive trend of our films,” he comments, “is the result of the work we have been doing for the past eight years. But the understandable satisfaction over these results should not make us lose sight of the market situation, which presents issues that must still be resolved".
There are four in particular: "Production costs are too high. Admissions still need to grow, and cinema attendance in general must increase. We are far behind other European countries and must continue working to extend the [summer] season. Medusa did its part in the summer of 2008 and we will do so again in 2009, repeating the experience of Un’estate al mare with another film that we will distribute in June or July of next year”.
The third issue is the relationship with television, "especially with Pay TV broadcasters, who are undergoing tremendous development and are taking on an increasingly more central role in the Italian market, to the point of being on the verge of taking the top stop from free TV".
The fourth problem to face is the transition towards digital. “There is no delay from distributors or exhibitors. The move to digital is unavoidable and in order to do it correctly we must coordinate, not only amongst ourselves but also with the international film system. It is obvious, however, that in the next two or three years there will be a total migration to digital,” concludes the Medusa CEO.
(Translated from Italian)
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