Italy’s Production Biz Booms With Big Names But Box Office Struggles
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Italian film industry is in a paradoxical state: production is booming but box office is bust.
Italy’s five features vying for a Venice Golden Lion – plus a myriad more scattered in other Lido sections – reflect cinema Italiano’s current creative vibrancy, if you look at the cream of the crop; however, the average quality is not that great.
On the plus side, the country is making a quantum leap forward in terms of the global visibility of its movies just as the number of Italian directors considered bankable in Hollywood, such as Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino and Stefano Sollima (“Without Remorse”), to name but a few, is growing.
During the fest’s lineup announcement Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera described the Italian cinema scene as being made of “light and shadows.” He noted that Italy’s movie output over the past year has reached a massive roughly 250 titles, with producers “generally going for quantity over quality.” The production boom is fueled by Italy’s generous 40% tax rebate and other incentives as well as growing demand from streamers and broadcasters.
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