It is the eve of MipTv, an important occasion for defining and “putting the finishing touches” to the RomaFictionFest 2010.
The dates are still far away “” 5th “” 10th July “” and so far only some general ideas have been sketched in for the event’s fourth edition.
The screenings and pitch dates so much enjoyed by both organizers and participants-buyers last year have been confirmed.
«We have just sent off the invitations and begun to select the works», explains chief executive Michele Misuraca. «The Rome Festival has already established itself. We have seen this from the attitude of the international stars and networks: we don’t have to explain who we are and what we do any more, and we immediately receive a positive response to our invitations to participate».
More specifically, for the screenings, «we could see straight away that this was an experience we had to repeat». With regard to the festival aspect, i.e. the public, one new feature has already been defined.
In addition to the normal locations (the Cinema Adriano and the Auditorium della Conciliazione, with a question mark still hanging over the Lumsa), this year there will also be a «Drama Village», explains Misuraca, «stretching along the banks of the river Tiber, between the Auditorium and Castel Sant’Angelo, starting around ten days before the festival opens, with meetings, concerts and stands showing the craft of drama-making in action, highlighting the various production aspects of this sector».

The program for the event is still quite open-ended.
Artistic director, Steve Della Casa explains:
«We have started talking to the Rai and Mediaset about the Italian previews, but everything is made so uncertain by the way television programs are scheduled “” decisions about when to broadcast a drama are always left to the last minute. We will definitely be paying tribute to the television career of Andrea Camilleri (Editor’s note: Italian writer and creator of “Montalbano”), from his involvement in Rai productions back in the 60s (“Maigret”, “Nero Wolfe”) to the present day».
With regard to international productions, the meetings held in Cannes will be decisive.
«There will almost definitely be an important tribute to a US TV major». Another innovation is the division of the competition into categories which are no longer based on “size” (TV movies, mini-series, long-running series) but on genre: drama, comedy and factual.
Apart from that, there will not be any major changes compared to the 2009 edition, although this year we have a 6.5 million Euro budget, around 5 million of which will come from the Fondazione Rossellini and the rest from private sponsors and other organizations.