This year Italy’s presence at Berlin will be rather subdued, with appearances as the co-producer for the last two ventures by directors Ozon (“Ricky”, in competition) and Angelopoulos (“The Dust of Time”, out of competition), and a guaranteed moment of glory (and glamour) with Riccardo Scamarcio, who is directed by Costa Gavras in “Eden is West”, the third Italian co-production of this 59th edition.
Other traces of Italy will be found in “Terra madre”, the new documentary from Ermanno Olmi which will be presented at the “Berlinale Special”, whilst Alba Rohrwacher “” the protagonist of “Il Papà  di Giovanna” by Pupi Avati “” will be Italy’s “shooting star”.

Made in Italy products will, however, be represented at the European Film Market “” which is expected to record a drop in attendance with respect to 2008 “” at the Italia Stand, a joint initiative between the ICE “” Italian Foreign Trade Commission, UNEFA “” Union of Italian Film and Audiovisual Exporters, and the Italian Film Commissions.
“This year our participation at the EFM, which is usually coordinated by Anica and Filmitalia”, says Gisella De Pace of the ICE, “will be managed in partnership with the Union of Exporters and the Italian network that brings together all the Film Commissions”.

The 140 sq. meter pavilion that will be hosting the distributors (Intramovies, Minerva Pictures, FilmExport Group, Movietime, Variety Communication and Mondo Tv, the only non-UNEFA participant) and the Film Commissions (18 structures will be represented, 6 of which will be present in Berlin: Apulia, Campania, Torino-Piemonte, Marche, Roma & Lazio, Italian Riviera-Alpi del mare), will be located in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, which has been the venue for the Berlin market since 2006.
The exhibition space will be backed by a series of communication activities linked to the Italian audiovisual industry:
“The promotional initiatives”, continues De Pace, “will include a catalogue on a USB pen drive with information about the distributors visiting Berlin, listing the relevant titles and trailers, as well as profiles of the various Film Commissions”.

“This year, the Italian Film Commissions will be present inside the Italian area at the Martin Gropius Center. This is a first”, announces Andrea Rocco, president of the association.
“Never before has there been such a consistent and complete Italian presence.
This achievement is all down to the ICE which has helped the Film Commissions and UNEFA to truly create a system”.