Conecta FICTION 3 to Spotlight Italy

Italy has been selected as the European Focus Country for Conecta FICTION 3, an international event dedicated to the co-production of TV fiction series between the Americas and Europe.

Eleonora Andreatta, director of Rai Fiction, and The Roma Lazio Film Commission will be present at the third edition of Conecta FICTION to represent Italy, alongside companies such as Banijay Studios Italy, Cattleya, Culture Synapses, De Agostini Edittore, Endemol Shine Italy, Fox Networks Italy and Mediaset. Italy’s nomination follows on the heels of the selection of Chile as the American Focus Country.

The Focus Country program selects two countries, one from Europe and one from the Americas, to analyze their industry and to present the particularities of these two territories, their potential as co-producers of audiovisual content and the talent of their local creators.

Italy is a country ripe for co-production according to the Audiovisual Producers Association, which released a report last March stating that media production in the country has reached a value of approximately 1 billion euros in the last two years. Recent international co-productions like Medici, The Young Pope and My Brilliant Friend have all been shot in Italy.

Andreatta said: “International co-productions represent a strategic area for Rai’s TV series, today more than ever. Thanks to the excellent work carried out in collaboration with major partners (HBO, AMC and Netflix, among others), and the success of ambitious titles that are a powerful assertion of identity such as My Brilliant Friend, The Name of the Rose and the two seasons of Medici—an acclaimed series that was successful and sold all over the world—Rai’s TV series have seen a great renaissance in recent years, consolidating the appeal of Italian writing, production and talents worldwide.”

She continued, “Through the Alliance, Rai has also forged strong links with France Télévision and ZDF to produce international projects with a strong European identity. This is an achievement of the utmost importance for Rai, but one which must be a starting point for broadening horizons still further and relaunching Italian excellence in serial narrative in the international mainstream.”