11/06/2008

Irina Palm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sam Garbarski
interview: Sébastien Delloye
film profile], Caramel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Persepolis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marc-Antoine Robert
interview: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Pa…
film profile] owe over 80% of their box office to the great results achieved through the Schermi di Qualità (“Quality Screens”) circuit.

Founded two years ago, on the trail of the previous Centocittà initiative, Schermi di qualità is a network of cinemas spread throughout the country that aims to promote the most recent Italian and European films by contributing to marketing and distribution. The initiative is promoted by AGIS (an umbrella organization of Italian entertainment industry companies), together with ANEC (National Film Exhibitors Association), ACEC (Catholic Association of Film Exhibitors) and FICE (Italian Federation of Arthouse Cinemas) and with support from the Ministry of Culture (MiBAC).

According to data gathered from April 2007 to March 2008, the goals have very much been met. Despite a drop in the number of participating screens, films such as Irina Palm, Caramel and Persepolis have achieved great visibility thanks to the network. The same holds true for The Secret of the Grain [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile], though to a lesser degree, and a huge hit like The Lives of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
interview: Ulrich Muehe
film profile].

The Italian films to have most benefited from the project film are One Hundred Nails [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Andrea Molaioli’s The Girl by the Lake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

These results are nothing but positive for Italian cinema. “Theatrical distribution,” says ANEC Vice-President Luigi Grispello, “is still the most important venue for most of our films”.

President of API (Independent Producers Association) Angelo Barbagallo agrees and considers very welcome “this kind of initiative, which backs those exhibitors who programme, even for lengthy periods of time, Italian and European films. Only through good box office results can we hope to sell our films to television or home video. National box office figures are also taken very much into consideration by foreign buyers.”

There funds are still relatively small – €3m, which divided among the screens amounts to just over €7,000 per screen. However, MiBAC points out that the goal is not to maintain exhibitors but to promote quality European cinema. And in this regard, emphasises the Ministry, the data supplied by Cinetel (which monitor 509 of the 687 Schermi di qualità) has exceeded all expectations.

To the point where the circuit, according to president of Schermi di qualità Paolo Protti, seems to have “felt in advance Italian cinema’s rebirth potential and helped it increase its market share.”

(Translated from Italian)