Filming Italy – LA Reflects on the Renaissance of the Italian Audiovisual Industry

“Cinecittà signed contracts and agreements worth 100 million euros, with revenues increasing by 43% last year,” announced the director of ITA’s Los Angeles, Alessandra Rainaldi, inaugurating the roundtable titled “The Renaissance of the Italian Audiovisual Industry & Its Impact on Italian Talent in the U.S.”, at the ninth edition of the festival organized by Rocca’s Agnus Dei in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Los Angeles, the APA (Audiovisual Producers Association), and under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy.

“Italian filmmakers and actors are increasingly involved in co-productions with various countries. The rise of streaming platforms has opened up new opportunities to reach global audiences, and there’s a growing appetite for content and actors that aren’t in English. Just look at the success of Sorrentino, Guadagnino, or Garrone,” argued Rainaldi.

Director, writer, and producer Ginevra Elkann; actor and producer Riccardo Scamarcio; American director, actress, and producer Kelley Kali; and the president of the TV department at AGBO, Scott Nemes: all of them agreed on the significant contribution of our country to the seventh art.

“The human factor will save cinema. Cinema will always need good characters. This is what makes the difference and what Italy has to offer to the world,” says Scamarcio. The 44-year-old actor, who gained recognition in 2004 with Luca Lucini’s “Three Meters Above the Sky,” flew to Hollywood after wrapping up filming for “Modì,” the biopic about the painter Amedeo Modigliani directed by Johnny Depp. “Good films are central to the industry, even to platforms,” Scamarcio considers. “They are the ones that captivate us on the screen, whether large or small. We spend hours with the remote control in our hands searching for something to watch, and often, defeated, we say to ourselves: ‘that’s enough, let’s go to bed.’ Instead, what audience truly craves is a heartfelt experience that we can all relate to while watching a movie. We desperately need humanity.” “Good stories can be produced locally, but they certainly engage a global audience,” confirmed Nemes, who last year shot in Italy with Fandango the first international chapter of the Amazon action show Citadel – Diana.

View here the full panel.