TV Goes to the Canal Grande With the Venice Int'l TV Fest. (Focus on Italy).

In history, Venice was known as a great economic power. These days, the ex-kingdom of the Dodges is looking to become a powerful player in the entertainment industry with its annual Venice Film Festival and the new Venice International Television Festival.

Set to unfold March 21-26, 2002 at the Palazzo del Cinema Convention Center at the Lido di Venezia (where the Film Festival is also held), it is comprised of a competition, a conference, a marketplace of ideas, a video kiosk, screenings of shows not in competition and a Focus Italia spotlight. The grand prize consists of a Canal Grande Award.

At MIPCOM, in Cannes, VideoAge reporters had a chance to talk with Venice Int'l TV's director, Germany-based Marlene Sternbaum, about the new festival. Srernbaum also runs the Italian office, which is based in Venice.

VideoAge. Why a new TV festival?

Marlene Sternbaum. The Venice International Television Festival is responding to the needs of the ever-growing and demanding television industry. Whereas theatrical films have dozens of important international and hundreds of local festivals, television productions have a very limited choice of not more than three to four international festivals. Considering the amount of remarkable TV movies, documentaries, cartoons and formats developed and produced every year, the professionals feel they need more venues to present and promote their works to the public, the press and the professionals. The Venice International Television Festival will provide the professionals with opportunities to get to know new programs and projects with a focus on European and international distribution.

VideoAge. Why is the Venice Int'l TV Festival important?

MS. One of the most important parts of the Festival is the creation of a network for producers and commissioning editors who need to meet and to discuss new projects. The "Venice Pitchings" invite European and international producers, distributors, financiers and TV executives to present proposals for fictional and non-fictional programs. One of the major concerns television films are facing is the difficulty selling the programs abroad. Most of the television films and documentaries only go on air on their national broadcasters. As the cost of productions have increased in the last few years, many interesting projects cannot be realized through national financing capacities only. The producers need to find partnerships to create projects that will travel onto the European and international market.

VideoAge. Who are the key sponsors of the Festival?

MS. It is housed at the Lido di Venezia -- an area of one of the most important audiovisual markets with a great number of wealthy companies and broadcasters, a well developed multimedia platform with lots of creative talents. The Italian audiovisual industry is certainly offering many interesting partners for such an event. The festival is an initiative of the Italian Producers Association (APT) and Veneziafiere.

The key sponsors of the Festival are MediaTrade, Rai, ICE/Filmare (the Italian trade Commission), Kodak and others. In order to establish an efficient network of the Italian industry, a number of cooperation agreements with Italian festivals have been concluded (Cartoon on the Bay, Prix Italia and others). Numerous Italian and European organizations are supporting the event and have expressed the wish to use it from now on as an attractive meeting point in the first quarter of the year.