Dario Franceschini: Last News

Citing 19th Century patriotic poetry and Mussolini-era writers and philosophers, the freshly appointed culture minister of Italy’s new right-wing government has promised a new era for the country’s cultural sector and revealed he wants to reform state funding for the performances arts.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentIn a move that will transform Italy’s relationship with Netflix, the Italian government has set a firm three-month time window between a movie’s theatrical release and when it can drop on a streaming platform.The announcement was made by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini during a Rome confab on the state of the country’s film industry held by the country’s motion picture association ANICA.The minister said he has signed a law that will extend the existing 90-day theatrical window for Italian films that had benefitted from government subsidies to now include all films, regardless of where they are produced or how they are financed.Due to its having a more flexible windowing policy than France, Italy in recent years has been an interesting testing ground for the theatrical releases of Netflix titles, largely because the Venice Film Festival is a frequent launching pad for the platform’s original films.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle and Italy’s Cinecittà have entered a five-year pact involving the continuous rental of six sound stages at the iconic studios, which are currently undergoing a major revamp.The deal “confirms Fremantle’s strategic decision to make some of its top international productions in Italy: a decision that finds the perfect and natural partner in Cinecittà,” Fremantle said in a statement.A radical revamp of Cinecittà,  which has been underway since May 2021, has been gaining traction with a rise in occupancy of its sound stages and backlot, realistic prospects for profitability, and new state-of-the-art filming facilities.The Cinecittà revamp is being conceived and carried forth by Nicola Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec who has a mandate from Italy’s culture minister Dario Franceschini to turn the Rome studios into continental Europe’s top filming facilities thanks to a €300 million ($339) million) investment from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

1960’s “L’Avventura” and 1966’s “Modesty Blaise” — was confirmed Wednesday by Walter Veltroni, a filmmaker and the former mayor of Rome.“Roberto Russo, her companion in these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no more. I do so with great grief, affection, and nostalgia,” Veltroni posted to Twitter.The blond bombshell was the new wave leading lady of movies helmed by the most legendary international filmmakers in the industry: She worked with directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Ettore Scola and Luis Buñuel, often starring alongside the superstar likes of Sir Michael Caine, Terence Stamp and Richard Harris.Born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli to strict, poverty-stricken parents on Nov.

Monica Vitti has died at the age of 90. The award-winning actress has passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Walter Veltroni, the former Mayor of Rome and a film critic, confirmed the news via a Twitter post.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe radical revamp of Italy’s Cinecittà Studios, which has been underway since May, is gaining traction with a rise in occupancy of its sound stages and backlot, realistic prospects for profitability, and new state-of-the-art filming facilities on the way, according to managing director Nicola Maccanico.Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, came on board in April to run Cinecittà with a mandate from Italy’s culture minister Dario Franceschini to turn the iconic Rome studios into continental Europe’s top filming facilities thanks to a €300 million ($339) million) investment from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPaolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” kicked off its theatrical rollout with a gala event Tuesday evening in the director’s native Naples, the city to which he returned after 20 years to shoot his most personal film.“I am as excited as I was at my wedding,” said Sorrentino ahead of the red carpet screening in the central Cinema Metropolitan attended by some 400 guests including Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini and players from the 1980s SSC Napoli soccer team, once led by late great champ Diego Maradona who, as the film reveals, involuntarily saved Sorrentino’s life.Sorrentino underlined that he was particularly pleased, and also anxious, about the Naples premiere — which was followed by

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentRome’s new concept MIA Market dedicated to international TV series, feature films, documentaries and more kicked off Wednesday in the Eternal City’s 17th century Palazzo Barberini with 1,700 registered industry execs – roughly 600 of whom have made the trek from abroad – and 350 new titles of various types, in development and production, on display.At a press conference attended by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini and all top Italian industry reps, organizers also boasted a 30% increase in completed films screening at the MIA film market where about 80 mostly European titles will be having their market – or, in some cases, even world – premieres.While the Oct.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPlans to overhaul Rome’s iconic Cinecittà Studios and potentially turn them into the top European filming facility were officially unveiled Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival with Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini and Stan McCoy, who is chief of the Motion Picture Assn. for Europe, on hand.In June, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Italian premier Mario Draghi jointly visited the Cinecittà lot and held a press conference in its vast Studio 5 — known as the late, great filmmaker Federico Fellini’s second home — to announce a €300 million ($353 million) investment to “adequately meet the growing international demand” for studio space,” as Franceschini put it.

Milva, one of Italy's most popular singers in the '60s and '70s who was also beloved by many fans abroad, died Saturday at her home in Milan. She was 81.

Italian singer, actress and TV personality Milva died on Saturday, at her home in Milan. The multitalented artist was 81.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly has officially abolished film censorship by scrapping legislation that since 1913 has allowed the government to censor scenes and ban movies such as, most famously, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris.”The move — which is symbolically important, though censorship is de-facto no longer practiced — definitively does away with “the system of controls and interventions that still allowed the Italian state to intervene on the freedom of artists,” said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini who late Monday announced a new decree ending the government’s powers to censor cinema. Hundreds of films from all over the world have been banned

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentHotly anticipated pan-European drama “Leonardo” bowed in Italy Tuesday (March 23) to stellar ratings, scoring a more than 28% prime time audience share on pubcaster RAI’s flagship RAI-1 station and prompting plaudits from Italy’s Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, as well as a huge sigh of relief from its creators, according to showrunner Frank Spotnitz.The lavish eight-part English-language retelling of the life of Italian master Leonardo da Vinci, played by Aidan Turner (“The Hobbit” franchise) is the first Italian production to receive backing from pan-European co-production initiative The Alliance, created last year by top European public service broadcasters.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly is among the first countries in the world where film and TV production restarted after the peak of the pandemic and the country is now trying to become among the first in Europe to reopen movie theaters.Culture Minister Dario Franceschini in late February announced tentative plans to reopen Italian cinemas on March 27 in areas with lower COVID-19 infection and death rates, using new stricter social distancing norms.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly, the European country initially hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, is weathering the second wave well with film and TV production chugging along at a relatively healthy pace thanks to efficient safety protocols and government incentives.Culture minister Dario Franceschini has just trumpeted a fresh injection of cash to support production, upping resources to fund the Italian tax rebate from €400 million ($474 million) to $652 million for 2021 while raising the incentive’s cap from 30% to 40% of a local production’s budget (for international productions, Italy’s cash-back rebate remains capped 30%, which is still attractive).