The panel France Télévisions & Rai present their first collaboration was held today during the tenth edition of the MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo.

The talk, which took place within the Doc section, was held in the usual setting of the Cinema Barberini and was moderated by Marco Spagnoli – Deputy Director, Head of Doc & Factual MIA.

Having announced the strategic partnership last year at the MIA, the agreement between Rai Documentari and France Télévisions, defined as a ‘marriage’, bore fruit: the first of the two productions was presented on the market stage, The Force of Destiny on Giuseppe Verdi, at La Scala in Milan directed by Anissa Bonnefont, of which they showed the teaser.

Bonnefont, who was present on stage, said he was happy to be working in Milan and defined this experience as ‘the great opportunity I had to surprise the public’. He added: ‘I was able to work at my best and push myself further, so that I could give back all the emotions to the audience’.

Among the speakers present was also Antonio Grigolini, Head of Documentary Unit at France Télévisions, who described himself as enthusiastic about this collaboration, as did Fabrizio Zappi, Director Rai Documentari, who reiterated: ‘Rai and France were very interested in an opera project. In Italy there is a great tradition of television programmes on opera, he says ‘it is part of our DNA’. It is a quality project in a historical Italian location and it is a great opportunity for us, it is a project that gives us hope that we can go ahead with this collaboration’. Myriam Weil, Chief Documentaries Officer & Producer at Federation Studio, confirms the enthusiasm surrounding the production.

Francesco Melzi d’Eril, CEO, MDE Films and MeMo Films, also dwelt on the beauty of the Opera project: ‘La Scala is a very fascinating microcosm, the people who work there every day create a real microcosm’.

Zappi then introduced the second project resulting from the collaboration: a documentary on a football match between France and Italy entitled ‘The Match’, presented by the companies Stand By Me & Breath Film.