Gianluca Curti grew up in one of the most important dynasties of Italian cinema. He is the CEO of independent Italian producer and distributor Minerva Pictures, a 2,000-title-strong company founded by his grandfather, Antonio Curti, in 1953, and headed by his father, Ermanno, before he took over. His mother was Italian actress Leonora Ruffo, known for her role in Federico Fellini’s comedy drama, I Vitelloni. Gianluca started his career in film production in 1991, right away winning a prize at the Giffoni Film Festival for his first film, Buck at the Edge of Heaven, an adaptation of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, directed by Tonino Ricci and starring John Savage. Since 2019, he has also been president of the CNA, the Italian confederation of craft trades and small to medium size businesses. This gives him a unique insight into the Italian film industry, which The Film Verdict asked him to share with our readers. He is at EFM with three market premiers: What Remains directed by Ran Zhuang, Hill of Vision by Roberto Faenza, and The Man on the Road by Gianluca Mangiasciutti.
The Film Verdict: You come from a legendary family that has been in the film business for quite some time. You have taken your business to new heights and are also the President of CNA. Let’s begin with that in mind and ask a broad question: What are the major changes that you have observed in Italian cinema since you first began in the business, and how has Minerva Pictures led the way or responded to it?
Gianluca Curti: A lot has changed since I first started. For one, the production process has changed over the past 30 years: particularly so in the past few years. The producer now has to wear two, three or four different hats at the same time. We now have to have expertise not only in production, but also in screenwriting, publishing, finance, and government funding, and we must also understand what sells. For that, our job today is more interesting and more challenging than in the past. We must be alive and kicking, so to speak. As for Minerva Pictures, we are pioneers of digital publishing and distribution. We were the first in Italy, and perhaps even in Europe, to have understood the digital challenge.
TFV: Many producers and filmmakers have welcomed the advent of streamers like Netflix and Amazon in production. Do you think in the long run this could hurt Italian Cinema, causing it to lose its identity, and steering viewers away from the cinema?
Gianluca: I want to be optimistic. Streamers are important players with deep pockets, and they are causing a change of attitude among the producers. It wasn’t easy at first. In Italy, film directors have the ‘final cut’ and the copyright. Italian directors and producers are used to having a lot more power, compared to the US where they follow the algorithm. This was a shock to us initially. But Italian producers quickly figured out this new system and the result has been an interesting synthesis. Now we produce a lot more than we used to, thanks also to the Italian tax credit laws. Today, production costs have gone up by 30%. There is full employment in the industry, and it is hard to find people to come to work on the set.
The question now is to maintain reciprocal respect through rules of engagement that allow us to continue to be content owners. It’s a complex issue, but I hope we will soon come to an agreement. The CNA and the Italian Ministry of Culture have been in talks for years with Netflix and Amazon to draw up 3-year plans with a minimum of investments. Reaching a general agreement between independent producers, broadcasters, and streamers is very, very important. Ultimately, I must say that the impact of the streamers has been absolutely positive. We must pay a lot of attention to women and young producers under the age of 30 in the agreements between us and the streamers. This to me is very important politically. Otherwise, the market will grow, but only the big producers like Minerva Pictures will see the benefits. I hope there will be laws that will allow independent producers to remain in the market. There are very few of us left anymore that are still 100% Italian.
TFV: MovieItaly is an Italian film streaming service that you launched in North America less than a year ago. Has it been successful so far?
Gianluca: Yes, for what we have invested in it. To launch something like that in the US and Canada one would need $20 million. But we chose to invest our own money in it without asking for government subsidies. We want it to have a pivotal role in marketing all sorts of Italian products – the Made in Italy brand, as we call it. Whether it’s wine, oil, fashion, or whatever else, if you don’t have money to invest in advertising for your product, you can become a sponsor and get the exposure you need. We screened “Il Conformista” in New York, and it was a big hit. Italy’s new government is very interested in promoting the Made in Italy brand. At the same time, the feedback from subscribers has been very good. They like the technical infrastructure of MovieItaly and its graphic layout. So far we have 2,000 subscribers and we want to reach 50,000 in 24 months and from there 100,000. For us, that would count as success.
TFV: Speaking of government funds, some of Italy’s best-known films were made with little to no European subsidies. Do you think having European subsidies stifles creativity by pushing down the drive, passion and ambition to make a great film?
Gianluca: For 50 years, in the West the Italian film industry was second only to Hollywood. We had extraordinary film directors and actors, from Vittorio De Sica to Gabriele Salvatores to Federico Fellini and so on. Then, new cinemas arrived from Hong Kong, Spain, the Middle East and so forth, while French cinema was becoming stronger. In Italy, instead, we spent the past 20 years making films that were good for the domestic market only and that could be broadcast on Italian TV after their theatrical release. This is how we slowed down. But now, thanks to the streamers, we are thinking global again. In this context, the subsidies are very important. Without them, we can’t be competitive at all. The subsidies also provide an incentive to bring big foreign productions, like James Bond films, to Italy.
TFV: If I am not mistaken, the last big film award Italy won was with the 2013 film The Great Beauty, with 60 some awards, including the 2014 Oscar for Best International Feature Film. Some have said that Italian films have lost a bit of their shine in the international market – do you agree?
GC: There is huge competition from Asia, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe. On top of that, the Italian commission that decides which films to send to the Academy Awards has five members. In the past 10 years, in nine out of ten cases I would have opted for a different film to send to the Academy Awards. There were some very good films, but they were not chosen. Of course, it’s also a question of personal preference. But I know the tastes of the American, German, and other international markets. Every year we produce two or three great films [that could do well at the Oscars].
TFV: Who are the up-and-coming filmmakers in Italy that we should keep an eye on?
GC: There are so many of them. Matteo Rovere and I produced a film called Mondocane in 2021, which did well in the US, too. The director was Alessandro Celli and this was his first feature film. He is great. Another very good film director is Annarita Zambrano [After the War, 2017]. And so is Emma Dante [A Street in Palermo, 2013].
TFV: Any prediction of who the winners will be at the Academy Awards this year?
GC: I think Andrea Riseborough could have won the Best Actress had Michael Morris’s To Leslie been nominated. For Best International Feature Film, I found Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO to be extraordinary. I also loved Alice Diop’s Saint Omer very much, but that too wasn’t nominated.
–Caren Davidkhianan
