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certain security because, in the long term, imagination and creativity are not enough. Economic and industrial repositioning of the industry is crucial. For this we above all need clear rules and fixed reference points. State funding has to be via “tassa di scopo” (earmarked taxation), which is a further crucial measure for the future and will make a contribution to subsidising new productions.” This earmarked taxation, for example a tax on cinema tickets, DVDs, on the unencoded transmission of films and their broadcasting on pay TV, and on paid downloads, has already been applied very successfully in France. Nonetheless, this tax still lacks a clear structure to date and needs to be integrated into the system. At present, apart from the tax shelter, the only other type of private financing available for audio-visual productions is product placement. This is an interesting method of co-financing given that, with effect from this year, European legislation permits product placement not only in cinema films but in television productions as well, even if this method could not finance an entire production. Marco Chimenez, deputy Chief Executive of Cattleya, a production company that has achieved some notable box office hits such as “Benvenuti al Sud” (Welcome to the South) or the television series “Romanzo Criminale” (Crime Novel) explains: “Our work as producers consists in selling emotions: the possibility of introducing certain brands within a context of an emotional story permits us to use a product in an intelligent way both during the production of the film, and when it is being sold.” The leading industry agency in Italy, and also part of a worldwide network, is Propaganda GEM, whose managing director, Marina Marzotto, explains how this instrument has to be used in future for Italian cinema and television, not only for corporate brands but also in general for the “Made in Italy” seal: “It is not only the country’s natural and architectural highlights that can be emphasised with product placement,” says the manager, who was one of the pioneers in terms of introducing and developing this financial tool in Italy. “Everything that is produced in a certain area can and must enjoy an increase in value by means of a targeted marketing campaign: from gastronomy to lifestyle to the typical products of natural beauty – all of these can become part of a larger offering which is transported via the film. A series of smaller investments could replace the big budget and thus make it possible for all to profit from an adventure that exceeds the simple experience of cinematic tourism. In this connection it is important to note that the integration of a region as a product in a film context should not mean only the physical location, but should focus on everything that goes towards shaping it and can be used for a television or cinema film. If we continue to work on this philosophy, we will be in a position to fulfil our mission and turn Italy into one of the world’s most extraordinary film and television locations”. Producer Marco Valerio Pugini, who has brought productions such as “Eat, Pray Love” and “Angels and Demons” to Italy, is of a similar view: “We have to create a special relationship between the audio-visual industry and those who want to promote their brands, places and locations via cinema – not only in Italy, but internationally as well. Film and television can retain their special quality and independence, yet still become an important advertising tool”. Captions: The international co-production “This Must Be the Place” by Paolo Sorrentino, starring Sean Penn. This film, which may be presented in competition at the next Cannes Film Festival, is the first in which an Italian bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, has been involved as a production partner.
50 Talents Paula Beer / Up-and-Coming Actor Paula Beer was celebrated with standing ovations at the Rome International Film Festival for her outstanding performance in the poetic love story “The Poll DIaries” by Chris Kraus that also marked her film debut. In the course of the story, her childish naivete evolves to forceful decisiveness. The 14-yearold was discovered at a street casting at her school. She had previously acquired her initial experience in acting and dance with the youth ensemble of the Berlin Friedrichstadtspalast, but she had never performed before a camera. The cooperation with her proved to be a phenomenon for the director. During filming, the young , up and coming actor increasingly grew into her role, and played it freely. Chris Kraus has only one explanation for that: Paula Beer, who is graduating from high school at age 16, is wiser than her years, both mentally and spiritually. Alessandro Roja / Actor The talent of Alessandro Roja is characterized by a combination of solid training, thorough preparation, and a huge passion for work. In Italy, he is widely known for his role as “il Dandi,” hero of the television series “Crime Novel” (Romanzo Criminale), together with Marco Bocci, Francesco Montanari, Vinicio Marchioni and Laura Virgilio. Cheery, brilliant and likeable, but capable of plumbing vast ambiguous depths, Roja recently has been seen in the cast of Riccardo Grandi’s pleasant musical comedy “All the Love in the World” (Tutto l’amore del mondo) alongside a fascinating Miryam Catania. After “Feisbum”, a more “experimental” project, the thirtyish Roman actor has been directed in the independently produced “The Exterminator” (L’Erede) from Michael Zampino, which has revealed another facet of his sophisticated and cultured acting ability. Roja is, without a doubt, a new actor on the Italian scene, where the cultural gap between television and cinema is narrowing, as it is in the rest of the world, even though the process may be slower in Italy because of external factors. Determined and attentive, Roja is an actor with great versatility, able to conjugate superficial amiability with an uncommon sense of menacin Meike and Alexandra Kordes / Producers The two sisters, Meike and Alexandra Kordes, produce shorts, documentaries, cinema and television productions with their firm Kordes & Kordes Film, which they established in Berlin in 2003. The producer-duo was named as one of the “Producers On The Move” by the European Film Promotion at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, and had their first big success with the powerful relationship drama, “Vier Minuten” (“Four Minutes”) by Chris Kraus. This winner of the 2007 German Film Prize was sold worldwide in more than 40 territories and, with 50 awards, counts as one of the most awarded films in recent years. The award endowment of 500,000 euros from the Geman Film Prize became the foundation-stone that enabled Chris Kraus to make his expensive dream project, “Poll” (“The Poll Diaries”). Before some 24 national and international film funding institutions and broadcasters came on board the project, the highly-committed producers had to really exert themselves laying the groundwork, as the demands of this production
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