82nd Venice Film Festival: What if the Best Film Was... a Series?
The 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival, chaired this year by Alexander Payne, concluded on September 6 after a week filled with screenings and events.
Silvia Laj, Deputy Head of Coficiné, was there to support our clients in competition, alongside Barbara Tonelli, who oversees operations in Italy. She shares her insights on this milestone event for international cinema.
How do you reflect on this 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival?
First of all, I want to congratulate our clients - producers, distributors, directors, and their teams - competing in this festival, renowned for blending tradition and modernity. The Venice Film Festival provides a fantastic opportunity for emerging talents to connect with experienced professionals and explore new forms of art and innovative storytelling techniques.
The films we have supported exemplify this spirit of modernity and diversity. Indeed, the festival showcased renowned directors like Olivier Assayas with Le Mage du Kremlin (produced by Curiosa and Gaumont), François Ozon with L’Etranger (FOZ, Gaumont), Leonardo di Costanzo with Elisa (tempesta) or Caroline Deruas Peano, whose film Les immortelles (Elsinore Film) opened the festival.
On the other hand, it was a fantastic opportunity to discover rising filmmakers like Evi Kalogiropoulou with Gorgona (Blue Monday Productions, Kidam, Neda Film) in the International Critics' Week. Carolina Cavalli’s stunning Il rapimento di Arabella (Elsinore Film), and Laura Samani’s Un’anno di scuolo (Nefertiti Film, Tomsa Film) won respectively Best Actress and Best Actor in the Orizzonti category.
This year's uniqueness lies in the fact that a series - specifically Un prophète, directed by Enrico Maria Artale and produced by CPB Films and Media Musketeers for CANAL+ Group - received particularly high acclaim. Following its screening to a full house, the series earned a standing ovation, prompting the magazine Bande à part to headline: "What if the best film seen here so far was a series?"
Do we finance a series like a film?
I would say yes and no. The financing mechanisms are generally similar for both films and series, with a few key distinctions. The primary difference is that series are commissioned – and eventually produced - by networks, which tend to be more interventionist regarding plots, scripts, direction, and casting. Series are somewhat guided by the broadcaster, while films are typically allowing producers - and therefore directors - greater creative freedom.
Another distinction is that successful series can be exported. However, national hits, like what we might hope for Un prophète, face language barriers. To address this challenge, some networks export the concept, which is then re-shot in the target language. For instance, the well-known Franco-Belgian series HPI was re-shot in 2024 for the United States and Canada under the title High Potential and Dix Pour Cent, financed by Coficiné, became Call my agent overseas.
How is the Italian film industry doing? Are you well established in the country?
As the leading financier of cinema in Europe, we have been active in Italy for many years. However, we have accelerated our development over the past five years with the arrival of Barbara Tonelli.
We have secured a prominent position among Italian producers and among financers such as the MIC - the Italian equivalent of our CNC -, broadcasters such as RAI, Mediaset and platforms, and the regions. We are recognized for our responsiveness, ahead of our understanding of the sector. This reputation, along with our dedicated team, ensures that the films we finance will be completed. This is particularly crucial since we work exclusively with independent producers in Italy.
Regarding Italian cinema, I would say it is faring quite well, as evidenced by the number of films released in 2025 and the strong representation of Italian cinema at this year's Mostra festival. 'La berlinger ambizione,' which we financed and which will soon be released in France, was a huge success at the Italian box office and has won multiple awards at the prestigious David di Donatello Awards.
This recovery, though still modest following the major crisis of the 1980s and the closing of iconic studios, is supported by the MIC, which has implemented measures encouraging active film production, essentially a significant tax credit. In addition, while theater attendance has been somewhat sluggish since COVID-19, as is the case everywhere, italian films have performed particularly well on streaming platforms and in European cinemas.
Thank you, Silvia.
