Audio-Visual Producers Summit Agenda Announced

The first edition of the Audio-Visual Producers Summit is set to take place from July 7 to 10 in Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Matera will serve as the setting for the new Italian and international audiovisual industry event. It will host players from the sector from around the world and feature keynotes and panels focused on the production of series and films for TV, digital platforms and the global scripted production market.

The “Forum of Lucanian cinema,” conceived and realized by the Lucana Film Commission, will kick off the summit on July 7. It is designed to collect the requests of operators and to mediate with the present institutions to meet the needs of local businesses. The session, moderated by the Lucana Film Commission President Roberto Stabile, will see the participation of the Undersecretary for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni; the manager of the direction of cinema and audiovisual at MiC, Nicola Borrelli; and Basilicata Region President Vito Bardi.

The event, organized by the Lucana Film Commission for APA-Association of Audiovisual Producers, will involve the PGA—Producers Guild of America.

The summit, which will feature a conversation with Sandra Stern, president of Lionsgate Television Group, will provide an opportunity to analyze the trends of the market, determine its guidelines and take stock of key issues in the production chain and possible ways of producing and financing international television shows.

In the international session “Literary and other adaptations: current trends and emerging business models,” producers from Game of Thrones, Rome, Medici and Leonardo reflect on current trends and emerging business models of IP and other adaptations such as podcasts. Taking the stage of the summit on July 9 will be Vince Gerardis, founder of C.I.A.O and co-executive producer of Game of Thrones; Anne Thomopoulos, partner of Legendary Global; Matilde Bernabei, president of Lux Vide; and Alexandra August, Skybound podcast producer. The session will be moderated by Carlo Dusi, executive producer and strategy director at Endor Productions.

James S. Levine, an Emmy-nominated composer, will also be a featured guest of the summit on July 9.

July 8 will feature Sean Furst, co-president of Film and TV of Skybound Entertainment; Ted Miller, head of global television of Creative Artists Agency; Lorenzo De Maio, president of De Maio Entertainment; Nancy Cotton, executive VP and head of scripted programming for EPIX; Riccardo Tozzi, co-founder and president of Cattleya; Luca Bernabei, CEO at Lux Vide. Gary Lucchesi, producer for Revelations Entertainment and president emeritus of PGA, will moderate this discussion.

In the panel “High-end international co-production. How soon will it return?,” Robert Franke, VP ZDFE.drama at ZDF Enterprises; Moritz Polter, founder of the newly formed ITV Studios production company Windlight Pictures; and Mario Gianani, CEO of Wildside, will speak about how the landscape for high-quality international co-productions in reformulating as the world continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Rick Jacobs, CEO of Skyboundgalactic, will moderate the session.

In the panel “Diverse Storytelling,” Hollywood producer, member of the PGA and Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Janet Yang will speak.

The panel “Production Goes Green!” will feature a discussion on the PGA Green Production Guide, the main tool designed to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impact of the film, television and streaming industry. Two of the co-founders of the Green Task Force of PGA—Katie Carpenter and Lydia Dean Pilcher—will talk. The panel will be chaired by Chiara Sbarigia, president of Istituto Luce Cinecittà.

“Shoot in the South!” will dominate the closing day of the summit. During the showcase, the film commissions of Campania and Puglia will have the opportunity to promote the territory and to show incentives and services at the regional level to support production for those who shoot in Italy.