“Series deserve their own dedicated space, especially at a time when formats are rapidly changing”
– We chatted with the Italian industry leader about series, the new challenges for independent producers, and international co-production
(© Sebastiano Stringola/Italian Global Series)
We met with Chiara Sbarigia, president of the APA – Italian Association of Audiovisual Producers, at the Italian Global Series Festival – an event conceived and organised by the association, and dedicated to Italian and international series – to discuss market transformations, the new challenges for independent producers, and fresh initiatives to strengthen Italy’s role on the international stage.
Cineuropa: Italian Global Series (IGS) is looking to become an international reference point for the sector. In a landscape which already features some really well-established events, such as Series Mania, Berlinale Series and the MIPCOM market, what particular space is this festival hoping to occupy?
Chiara Sbarigia: The festival was founded in 2007 [Editor’s note: running under the name Roma Fiction Fest until 2016] and, after a few years, an industry section came to complement the artistic component: we wanted to create a meeting place for producers, screenwriters and broadcasters in order to foster co-productions. When the festival came to an end, that component flowed into the MIA, where it quickly became the beating heart of the event. Recently, however, we felt the need to bring a festival wholly devoted to series back to Italy. Series are still a side section in Venice and in Rome Film Fest, whereas here, they’re at the heart of the project. Series Mania is currently the main industry benchmark, and we’re already collaborating with them to create shared pathways. The more opportunities we have for exchanging ideas, the better. But, I believe series deserve an autonomous space, especially at a time when formats are rapidly changing, from micro-dramas to the new models introduced by platforms. I also think we’ll see a return of European co-productions. When the platforms arrived, the market went global and traditional models changed, but now, with increasingly limited resources and growing international competition, we’ll need to find new forms of collaboration.
What needs to be done to boost Italy’s co-production activities?
This particular aspect of the industry will remain at the MIA market held in October, where we’ll continue to develop and explore the topic of co-productions together with the team who manage that event. I don’t think it’s possible to organise both a high-quality international festival and a market at the same time: inevitably, one of the two events ends up taking precedence. That’s why we’ve created two distinct gatherings: now we’re building a festival dedicated to series, while the more strictly industry-related aspects, meetings between professionals, and project development, will continue to hold space in MIA.
Over the past two years, there’s been talk of a market contraction after the streaming boom. How is the role of independent producers changing in this new landscape?
The market has been stagnant for about a year and a half, and the data we’ll present in October confirms it’s come to a substantial standstill. This was partly predictable after the major expansion of streaming, but there are contingent factors weighing on the sector too, not least tax credit, which is the only real public support tool for the entire audiovisual value chain. When the rules change midstream, it becomes difficult for companies to plan for the future without clear programming: an audiovisual production involves long timelines and significant investment. In the meantime, profits have fallen, interest costs have risen, and production companies’ credit exposure has grown. The issue of rights also remains unresolved. In other European countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, there are mechanisms which govern the transfer of rights and better safeguard the balance between producers and commissioners. But in Italy, we’re yet to introduce a system as effective as this, and regulatory intervention is proceeding more slowly. As an association, we’re taking a close look at these issues, because if production companies are weakened, the capacity to invest in risk-taking and in research and development also dries up: acquiring new rights, developing a high number of projects and experimenting are fundamental to keeping the quality of audiovisual output high.
This year’s new addition at IGS is the Pitch Crime Series. What goals did you set yourselves for this format?
I pushed hard for this initiative, the winner of which receives an award as well as a cash prize. The call was exclusively for candidates who’d never produced series: 21 projects were submitted, all anonymously. Selection was entrusted to a dedicated committee. The five finalists presented their pitches having previously completed a mentoring programme with industry professionals. The goal is to give space to new ideas and broaden the creative marketplace. We chose to focus on producers as well as screenwriters because we wanted to identify projects which had a real chance of being made. Looking to the future, we’re also considering other genres, such as horror: it’s important to create opportunities for new talent to emerge.
(Translated from Italian)
