Interview: Vincenzo Mosca of TVCO on "My Italy" and Italian Cinema throughout the World

The 13th edition of the Italian Screenings, the only annual marketplace event dedicated solely to Italian productions is underway in Bari, located in Italy's southern region of Puglia. Organized by Istituto Luce Cinecittà, 130 professionals from 30 countries are expected to attend. The purpose is to sell Italian films to buyers throughout the world.

Among those professionals is Vincenzo Mosca. He and his business partner Sesto Cifola run the world sales and production company TVCO that recently partnered with CristaldiFilm to make Italian films available throughout the world. Cristaldifilm is operated by Massimo Cristaldi and Zeudi Araya. Massimo is the son of Franco Cristaldi, a monumental movie producer and three-time Oscar winner for some of the most beautiful, timeless films ever created, including Pietro Germi's "Divorce-Italian Style", Federico Fellini's "Amarcord" and Giuseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso". The partnership between these professionals so passionate about Italian cinema is a match made in heaven.

Mosca and Cifola are in Bari to present their film "My Italy". Directed by Bruno Colella who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Luisa Ranieri and Rocco Papaleo, "My Italy" tells the story of a director and his assistant traveling around Europe in search of financing for a feature film about four great contemporary artists. Along the way, they meet up with a whole cast of characters and problems which greatly affect the outcome of the film.

I recently spoke with Vincenzo Mosca about his collaboration with CristaldiFilm and Italian film distribution around the world.

How is your recent collaboration with CristaldiFilm going?
Our collaboration with Massimo Cristaldi and Zeudi Araya is very good. The library is so rich in masterpieces. Buyers are interested in most of them.

Tell me about "My Italy." What was it about this film that made you want to represent it?
Do you think the message is universal and will be understood outside of Italy, helping world distribution of the film?
"My Italy" is an extraordinary combination of contemporary art and comedy in the best Italian way. I found it extremely entertaining and at the same time innovative about Italy, her beauty and contradictions through the eyes of four of the leading contemporary artists who play themselves. I believe this will appeal to world audiences.

Can individuals purchase your films here in America or do you just sell to theaters and distributors?
We first look for distributors to maximize exposure, but we do run our own TVOD channel where a selection of our Italian and European films are available for individual buyers.

In your experience, how do you feel about Italian cinema on a global platform? Is there a big demand for it?
I believe we do have to increase and foster the demand of Italian cinema on a global platform. My idea is to create one single or a few strong platforms dedicated to our cinema. I am sure that would work.

For more information about the vast library of films available through TVCO's partnership with CristaldiFilms, click here- TvcoVOD.

Comments

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

Ornella Muti: Five decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with “La Moglie più bella” (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, “Sole nella pelle” (Sun on the Skin), in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies, with its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with "Flash Gordon." She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including “Oscar,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty. He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence. Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

The Timeless Vision of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pondering his films and poetry, I wonder if the uniqueness of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films was rooted in his unconventional childhood. Born in Bologna in 1922, Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the army, and his family was always moving. He grew up in various small towns in Northern Italy. After his parents separated, he spent most of his time in his mother's hometown of Casarsa, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. There, he grew to respect the area's peasant culture and began to write poetry in the region's dialect. He studied literature and art history at the University of Bologna and was drafted into the army during World War II. The war proved to be especially tragic for his family as his younger brother was executed by Communist partisans. Following the war, he returned to Casarsa where he worked as a teacher and ironically became a leading member of the Communist party there. Pasolini was later expelled from the party due to allegations of homo...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog