Whilst according to the artistic director, Piera Detassis, the Rome Film Festival is getting younger in terms of the average age of the film-makers, the number of debuts and second works, The Business Street is growing in experience and credibility, taking its rightful place in the international sales network for audiovisual products that includes events held in Cannes, Berlin and Los Angeles.
Roberto Cicutto, the director of the International Rome Film Market, is convinced that this is the case, having always promoted a philosophy that sees the alliance between markets as an opportunity for improving services, and draws our attention to the exponential growth of an initiative which has now become “an umissable event”, bucking the trend of the current economic crisis.
“Our market can be seen as a rare pearl on the Italian scene, because it is the only example of private and public bodies working together, along with members of the trade, in order to drive the industry forward, without neglecting the artistic aspect. 
And we have an advantage: we are younger than the other markets and maybe we are more inventive.
Our older brothers have understood that everybody benefits from the creation of a worldwide circuit and that competition is pointless. Negotiations carried out in Cannes or Berlin can now continue against the backdrop of the Via Veneto, whilst others can start in Rome and continue soon after in Los Angeles during the AFM”.
However the postponement of the dates of the Rome Festival and the increasingly short period of time between the Business Street “” which, this year, ends on November 1st “” and the American Film Market, which opens on November 3rd, has caused some problems, partly influencing attendance:
“The bigger companies that normally send two sellers to Rome, are only sending one, whereas people coming from far away have, in certain cases, had to choose between the two events.
The festival’s position between Mipcom and the AFM works, but the ideal would be to return to the initial dates, around mid-October”.
The Market’s now well-established formula, which will see the return of the New Cinema Network (29 projects have been selected this year, from 16 countries) and the Prix Eurimages for the Best European Producer, alongside the rich network of workshops, international conferences and meetings between professionals, will also include, this year, the Eurimages Development Award, assigned to the best co production project, and the first edition of Industry Books.
Industry Books is a section dedicated to publishers and film-TV producers who will be able to view a selection of Italian and European novels (Cinema & Video International has dedicated a special edition to this initiative): “a market within the market which will be an important, new opportunity for members of the trade”, says Cicutto.
“The transposition of books to the big screen is a subject I am particularly interested in since my biggest success as a producer was “˜The Legend of the Holy Drinker’ “.
The Italian Screenings at the Cinema Quattro Fontane has also been confirmed, with 28 Italian movie premieres being screened to a public of international buyers.
After the meetings held with the French and Germans at the last edition, this year Italy will meet with British members of the trade to discuss how to improve the moviemaking incentives system:
“Changing co-production rules following the legislative route is a long and complicated process, so the idea is to draw up a kind of draft agreement between the two countries which, without undermining their respective tax breaks, could facilitate the development of co-productions.
The institutions responsible for distributing public financing, promotional organizations and producers from both countries will take part in the meeting”.
THE ITALIAN SCREENINGS
The International Rome Film Market, in collaboration with Cinecittà Luce “” Filmitalia and UNEFA [Union of Film and Audiovisual Exporters], will be presenting the sixth edition of “Italian Screenings”: a special two-day event showcasing the latest Italian productions, with screenings reserved exclusively for accredited international buyers attending the International Rome Film Market.
The “IS” will take place from October 29th “” 30th 2010 at the Cinema Quattro Fontane, and will give international buyers an opportunity to discover 27 new Italian titles.
