International Disruptors: RAI Cinema CEO Paolo Del Brocco Talks Company’s Venice Debuts & The Push To Get Italian Audiences Back Into Cinemas

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Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S.

shaking up the offshore marketplace. As the Venice Film Festival kicks off today, we’re speaking with RAI Cinema CEO Paolo Del Brocco about some of the company’s 24 titles featuring in the festival this year as well as his ongoing challenge to lure Italian audiences back into the cinema after a rocky post-pandemic period. RAI Cinema CEO Paolo Del Brocco is no stranger to the Venice Film Festival, having headed up the film arm of the top Italian public broadcaster Rai for more than a decade.

But, in many ways, this year feels more significant than ever for the top exec as he touches down on the Lido to enjoy local and international projects on the big screen at a time when the cinema sector has arguably never been more in flux.“It’s a strange time,” admits Del Brocco. “We’re still not sure of what all the answers are but our directive is, and always has been, to work hard to make better movies that can surprise audiences and lure them back into the cinema.”Long considered one of the most important cornerstones of the Italian film industry, RAI Cinema invests in just under half of Italy’s homegrown films per year and it distributes its own titles as well as third-party productions via its distribution arm 01 Distribution.

This year, Rai Cinema has 24 titles debuting in Venice sections, including Orizzonti.This year, the company has backed the production of three titles selected in Venice’s main competition this year: Gianni Amelio’s Il Signore Delle Formiche (Lord of The Ants), a director the company has worked with for more than two decades; Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Chiara, another