For the sixth consecutive year Intesa Sanpaolo, the first bank of choice for Italian cinema and a promoter of the “Made in Italy” brand and of Italian image and culture abroad, is supporting the Los Angeles, Italia Festival organized by Capri in the World Institute together with the Ministry of Culture and ICE, the Italian Trade Agency. It is to be held from 5 to 11 March. The event, which introduces the famous night of the Oscars and promotes Italian cinema around the world, has a varied and very full program, which includes an “Italian Masters” section by Intesa Sanpaolo. Director Ferzan Ozpetek is the Italian Master being celebrated at the 2023 edition of the Festival, with two of his works being screened on 5 March (“The Goddess of Fortune”) and 7 March (“Naples in Veils”) respectively. The famous director will be in attendance and will introduce the two feature-length films to the audience in the hall.
The 2023 Festival, chaired by Oscar-winner Bobby Moresco, will honour songwriter Diane Warren and singer Sofia Carson, creators of the Academy Award-nominated song “Applause”, which appears on the soundtrack of the film “Tell it like a woman”, produced by ILBE – Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment and Chiara Tilesi’s production company We Do It Together. Intesa Sanpaolo is partnering with events supporting the “Applause” Oscar campaign and provided financial support to make “Tell it like a woman”, which will be screened at L.A., Italia on 6 March as part of the “Italian Cinema Worldwide” section, with the producers and some cast members in attendance.
With its specialist Media & Culture Desk, Intesa Sanpaolo is a leader in the national audio-visual market with over 2.2 billion euro disbursed to the sector since 2009, and has provided financial support for the production of over 560 national and international films and TV series, together with over 140 commercials, factuals and TV formats. Italy’s leading banking group is a privileged partner for national and international players and its specialist support is of vital importance to them both when planning a new project, with an advisory service on a variety of financial aspects, and for financial support at the implementation stage.
In terms of the film industry, Italy is ranked fourth in Europe for labour productivity and is growing at a significant rate, particularly through digital platforms and channels, which have become more popular than ever in the wake of the pandemic. In the past two years, the banking Group has breathed new life into SMEs in the audio-visual sector and, through “Motore Italia Cinema”, has made 500 million euro available to revitalise the sector, offering solutions for the digital transition, restoring competitiveness, production management and opening up the sector to the international market. The impact of the film and digital production sector on the economy is manifold, with a positive effect in terms of attracting tourists to the country thanks, in part, to filming locations that are among the most iconic in cinema.
Through its long-standing relations with leading international players (Amazon, Netflix, Sony, Disney, Universal Studios, Paramount, MGM and Independent Producers), Intesa Sanpaolo helps attract executive productions to Italy from abroad, an incoming activity that generates a positive impact in terms of employment and fuels professional growth in the sector. In 2022, these productions included “Fast and Furious 10”, “Indiana Jones”, “Equalizer 3” and “Gossip Girl”.
Among the most recent audio-visual collaborations spearheaded by the banking Group is “Ferrari”, a film directed by Michael Mann, which tells the story of Enzo Ferrari and for which Intesa Sanpaolo signed a co-funding agreement with the US investment bank Comerica. Another example is “Lamborghini – The man behind the legend”, a film co-financed by Intesa Sanpaolo and produced by ILBE (Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment S.p.A.) and Notorious Pictures, which will be screened at the Los Angeles, Italia Film Festival in the “Celebrating Italian Legends” section.
