06/03/2020 - The new project by Lo Scrittoio in league with Fabrizio Grosoli will offer all-round consultancy services to independent filmmakers, including targeted measures for the various development phases

Producer, distributor, critic, journalist and festival director Fabrizio Grosoli (© Elena Tubaro)

The role of the festival strategy and marketing consultant is well-established on an international level, but in Italy it has struggled to gain recognition as a key element in the creation, success and launching of an audiovisual work. However, Lo Scrittoio – a promotion and distribution outfit which has always had an eye for high quality independent and auteur cinema - and Fabrizio Grosoli – a film producer, distributer, critic, journalist and festival director – have committed to launching a new project on 9 March: a consultancy agency which seeks to link up the world of production with that of distribution, offering targeted actions for each phase of development and a variety of methods aimed at devising the best possible strategy for a film’s circulation.

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Grosoli, who knows the industry like the back of his hand and has followed the endless mutations of the audiovisual sector, explains that “every year, hundreds of films are produced in Italy; in 2018 alone, over 600 fiction titles and close to 900 documentaries were recorded. Unfortunately, only a very small number of these works find their way to cinema auditoriums, secure a distributer and gain visibility through a festival premiere. We’re convinced, therefore, that one of the key priorities for anyone making films today is that they arm themselves with a strategy to help their work survive once the artistic and productive phases are completed. At this highly complex moment in the history of filmmaking, industry professionals require ever greater levels of creativity and know-how. Our initiative can lend support in this respect. The group of professionals that make up the dynamic and innovative world of Lo Scrittoio are looking to provide all-round consultancy services to independent filmmakers and producers. We want to be the leading Festival Strategy and Marketing Consulting Agency both for fiction films and documentaries”.

Indeed, the services offered by the agency will encompass the development and pre-production phase, right on through to post-production. They also provide an assessment of films’ circulation potential at the planning and production phase; a festival and market registration strategy, taking into account the different processes involved, and a tactical plan for the promotion and marketing of these works.

“Of course, many of our services and much of our advice is also aimed at international stakeholders. The importance of making producers, distributers or sales agents aware of the opportunities that exist in our country for enhancing the visibility of their products in festival or market contexts, is indisputable. And we’re not necessarily talking about widely known promotional situations, but those which might be best suited to the audiovisual product in question, depending on its editorial line or target, and which could therefore work to its advantage”.

Projects will be assessed ad hoc, at every stage of their development. To request an assessment, a particular service or a quote, interested parties need simply fill in a form – which can be downloaded within the dedicated section at https://scrittoio.net/ – and forward it to strategy@scrittoio.net. This will provide the team with the required project details, namely the particular stage of development or state of the work in question, allowing them to tailor their services and advice to the client’s needs.

(Translated from Italian)