08/02/2013 - No Italians in competition, but many films sold by French and British companies in the international market with Sorrentino, Tornatore, Salvatores

After the magnificent Taviani brothers exploit, who won the 2012 Golden Bear for Ceasar Must Die, Italians are noted for their absence this year at the Berlinale. The Best Offer by Giuseppe Tornatore is the only one to act as representative in the Berlinale Special section, while the Forum section showed Materia oscura [+see also:
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film profile] (photo), an interesting documentary by Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti on the weapons testing area of Salto di Quirra in Sardinia, where old military arsenals have irremediably contaminated the land.  

Italian shorts include Matilde by Vito Palmieri (in the Generation Kplus section) and Al Intithar by Mario Rizzi (coproduction with the United Arab Emirates in Berlinale Shorts).

Producers have turned their gaze towards the European Film Market to seek out some made in Italy cinema, even if this is through French and British exporters.

Through the EFM, French Bac Films launched presales for Paolo Virzì’s Human Capital (news), with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Valeria Golin, produced by Indiana Productions with RaiCinema and Parisian Manny Films. 

Pathé International is putting greatly awaited La grande bellezza by Paolo Sorrentino (news) onto the EFM, while the Elle Driver list includes Giorgio diritti’s film There Will Come a Day. 

Wild Bunch is betting on Twice Born by Sergio Castellitto, starring Penélope Cruz, which has already made €5 million at home. Rezo will be selling animation movie Pinocchio [+see also:
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film profile] by Enzo d'Alò with Lorenzo Mattotti’s magnificent images, which opened the 2012 Venice Days, and also more recently opened the Anima festival in Brussels last week (news). It will be coming out in France on February 20 and in Italy the day after.  

Films Distribution presented Salvo to the Berlin market. The film is a debut for Sicilians Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, and stars Luigi Lo Cascio. Citè Films and Rendez-vous Pictures’s lists feature respectively Miele by Valeria Golino with Jasmine Trinca and Good as You by newcomer Mariano Lamberti, a gay comedy about a Roberto Biondi play. Alfama Films produced and is curating presales for Luca Guadagnino’s next film Body Art, based on a book by Don DeLillo starring David Cronenberg. 

Uconnect brought The Best Offer by Giuseppe Tornatore to the EFM. The film has made over €8 million in the Italian box office and sales are looking good thanks to the fact it was filmed in English. WestEnd Films is selling another English-language film, Siberian Education by Gabriele Salvatore (news). Fandango Portobello is selling a variety of Italian films: Tutti contro tutti [+see also:
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interview: Rolando Ravello
film profile] by Rolando Ravello, Mi rifaccio vivo by Sergio Rubini (news), Tutto tutto niente niente [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Giulio Mandredonia, La scoperta dell'alba [+see also:
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film profile] by Susanna Nicchiarelli.

(Translated from Italian)