Business Street: Good results despite difficult year
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Despite a year marked by a significant drop in business in film industries worldwide, there was no small amount of satisfaction in Via Veneto yesterday after the closing of The Business Street, the Rome International Film Festival market. According to organisers, "The data confirms the success of the formula for the professional meetings between producers and distributors".
Six hundred and twenty accredited professionals participated in the five days of the market – the same number as last year’s edition – but the numbers of buyers rose from 250 to 260 and sellers from 40 in 2007 to 97 this year. There were 112 producers with projects, 153 screenings, 90 films in the video library, 28 market premieres for 33 countries present (headed, by number of accreditations, by Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, Japan and Argentina).
Many of the 24 Italian films at the market closed deals. RAI Trade sold Matteo Rovere’s Bad Girls [trailer] to France, Mexico, Greece, Portugal and Spain; Giovanna’s Father by Pupi Avati to Japan, Mexico, Argentina and Australia; and some of its library titles to Japan, Belgium, Holland and the UK.
Adriana Chiesa Enterprises sold Maria Sole Tognazzi’s The Man Who Loves [trailer] to Central Europe, Russia, Greece, India and Canada, while Puccini e la Fanciulla was picked up by India, Greece and the Netherlands.
Filmauro sold Brando De Sica’s Parlami di me [trailer] to Argentina and other Latin American countries.
Coach 14 has sold Edoardo Winspeare’s Galantuomini [trailer] to Canada and the Netherlands while Israel’s Nachson Film acquired Marco Amenta’s The Sicilian Girl from Roissy Film.
Intramovies also registered numerous negotiations with countries such as Greece, Spain, Scandinavia, Poland, France and Holland. "There is significant interest from European professionals in an initiative that takes place in Europe, the only market in the second half of the year,” said Intramovies CEO Paola Corvino.
Camillo de Marco cineuropa.org