Milan, 28 October 2005
A new stage of Italian Cinema Worldwide
MEDIA Salles at ShowEast 2005
(Orlando, United States, 24 October)
Dear friends,
we have just concluded a new stage in Italian Cinema Worldwide,
our journey devoted to the promotion of Italian cinema during the most
important exhibitors’ meetings worldwide: following Cinema Expo
International in Amsterdam last June and Kino Expo in Moscow in September,
where we met exhibitors from Russia and the CIS, on 24 October we were
present at the International Day of ShowEast 2005 with
a selection of trailers of the most recent Italian productions about to
be released in theatres in North and South America. Films that are above
all rich in stories – as the Secretary General of MEDIA Salles,
Elisabetta Brunella, commented when presenting them – at a time
when these are just what the cinema appears to be in need of. Not by chance
the Executive Vice President of Twentieth Century Fox International, Paul
Hanneman, quoting a recent American audience survey, observed: “young
people demand that the cinema be capable of telling stories”.
And so we showed not only US exhibitors, but also those coming from Latin
America, the Caribbean area and Canada, gathered at the Orlando World
Center Marriott, excerpts from films capable of telling stories: in some
cases true stories, such as that of the kidnapping and assassination of
the Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in Good Morning, Night or
the killing of an Italian priest, Don Puglisi, by the mafia in Come
Into The Light. In other, stories drawing on real life, such as Private
– to be released in the United States in November in prestigious
theatres like the Angelika Film Center of Manhattan and on a market of
vast dimensions, like that of Brazil; stories that narrate events and
dramas taking place in our society in a sober way (Once You’re
Born) or like a fairy tale (The Tiger and The Snow).
Some films tell a story about Italy, others are set far away: in Palestine,
Iraq, Uruguay.
The latter country, for example, was where Persona Non Grata,
co-produced by Italy, Russia and Poland, was shot. And then there are
films like, for instance, The Days of Abandonment, presented
at the latest Venice Film Festival, well received by Italian audiences
and already purchased for the Brazilian market, or The Keys to The
House which, after the success obtained in Italy, has already been
appreciated in countries such as the USA and Canada, is now showing in
cinemas in Mexico and Argentina and will soon be reaching those in Colombia
and Brazil.
These trailers are now available on our website (www.mediasalles.it) in
the section Italian Cinema Worldwide, which I invite you to visit. The
fact cards for the films are to be found in the “Special ShowEast”
issue of the MEDIA Salles’ Newsletter “European Cinema
Journal” n. 4/2005, which is available in the homonymous
section of our website.
If the trailers were the “main dish” in this event, Italian
Cinema Worldwide was something more than this: the opportunity for a meeting
between operators interested in screening Italian movies. In fact, the
“Networking Lunch” following the screenings
was attended, amongst others, by Cine Colombia and Procinal, a Colombian
distribution and exhibition company which will be taking The Keys
to The House onto the big screen in December, as well as Caribbean
Cinemas which, with three screens already in operation and six under construction
in Puerto Rico, is keeping a particularly keen eye on independent cinema.
And now a new phase awaits us: in fact, we shall be at CineAsia
in Beijing, from 13 to 15 December 2005, with new opportunities
for meetings and new films, which we shall be giving you news of, also
through our website.
Italian cinema is thus continuing its journey: we invite you to follow
it and, perhaps, allow it to continue elsewhere, too, in your own theatres.
Sincerely Yours,
Domenico Dinoia
President
P.S.: We take the opportunity to announce that the Center in the North
of Florida where ShowEast has taken place has not suffered damage from
the passage of the hurricane Wilma.
MEDIA Salles, a project operating within the framework
of the European Union's MEDIA Programme, with the support
of the Italian Government, fosters theatrical distribution
of European audiovisual products, both by high profile campaigns involving
Europe's cinema exhibitors and by initiatives to raise the visibility
of European productions with industry players and potential audiences,
creating specialized information channels on a global scale. Thus the
current initiatives from MEDIA Salles dovetail in a program with a triple
focus - training, promotion and information - and maximum combined effect.
Italian Cinema Worldwide is a MEDIA Salles’ initiative,
held thanks to the support of the Italian Government.
MEDIA Salles
Via Soperga, 2 – I-20127 Milan
Tel.: +39.02.66984405 – Fax: +39.02.6691574
E-mail: infocinema@mediasalles.it
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