On the morning of today, 11 October 2023, the panel entitled “UniCredit4Cinema”: A Focus On International Growth was held as part of the ninth edition of MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo.

Taking the stage in Room 4 of the Barberini Cinema were Carlo Degli Esposti of Palomar SpA, Alessia Iannoni Sebastianini for SACE SpA and Roberto Sessa for Picomedia Srl. The discussion was moderated by Giampaolo Letta, President AdB Region Centro UniCredit and Roberto Fiorini, Regional Manager of UniCredit Region Centro.

The focus of the panel was on the best ways to support the international growth of the Italian audiovisual system. During the event, the survey UniCredit4Cinema: A Focus On International Growth, promoted in collaboration with MIA,  was also presented.

Roberto Sessa was among the first to speak, stating: “France is the engine of Europe, it has overtaken England and is of central importance in the audiovisual world. We are light years away from the size of that industry. Our capacity is to resist. There was a qualitative leap in 2015 with the entry of the tax credit but now it’s becoming a problem. We have responsibilities and we have to take them.”

Also on the European audiovisual system was Carlo Degli Esposti, who added: “We have and should have more competitors because we only grow in competition. France’s system balance is not comparable with those of Italy and Spain, which are younger systems.”

The floor was then passed to Alessia Iannoni Sebastianini who illustrated Sace’s line on the audiovisual sector: “SACE accompanies Italian companies in their growth abroad. We facilitate the banking system for companies that want to invest abroad. We support companies with financial guarantees to guarantee their internationalisation. We have contributed 180 million euro in the audiovisual sector.”

Giampaolo Letta, moderator of the panel, then spoke, saying: “A producer-entrepreneur must set his work within a vision of growth and development. It’s important to acquire the ability to export our companies abroad and acquire foreign companies.”

Roberto Fiorini, moderator together with Letta of the event, on the other hand, explained the fulminating evolution undergone by the sector with the advent of the large streaming platforms: “We were still thinking of broadcasters 15 years ago and one morning we woke up and Netflix and the others arrived, who invested a lot but also changed the rules of production and not always to their advantage”.