The panel Netflix, The Craft of European Storytelling: A Spotlight on Italy, Spain and The Nordics was held today during the ninth edition of the MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo.
The panel was opened by a live performance by Raffaele Costantino.
The speakers in the setting of the Cinema Barberini were Eleonora Andreatta, VP Content Italy, Diego Ávalos, VP Content Spain and Portugal, and Jenny Stjernströmer Björk, VP Content Nordics for Netflix. The event was moderated by Eva Carducci.
The focus of the event was Netflix group’s creative and production process, the editorial line-up on European content and the slate in development and production between films, series, documentaries and unscripted projects.
Eleonora Andreatta explained to the audience in the room the strategy adopted by the Italian branch of Netflix. “The idea is to meet a very wide audience with whatever kind of story is relevant. We want to create authentic Italian stories, we work with producers, we want to give an element of humanity. One example among many is ZeroCalcare, who has a strong voice and is a pure artist. A variety of talents have decided to trust us, such as Vasco Rossi and Ferzan Ozpetek, who is working with us and whose next film will be presented at the Rome Film Festival next week. Alessandro Borghi is also working closely with Netflix, with Suburra and Super Sex. We are also making the first talent show called Nuova Scena.”
Diego Ávalos then illustrated the work that Netflix is doing in Spain and Portugal, focusing in particular on the change of gear that the streaming giant has made in recent years: “When we started working at Netflix we only focused on Hollywood content, but later on we saw the opportunity to share things from other countries, like Spain, and I think it is really important that people can learn from other cultures even without knowing the language.”
Next to take the floor was Jenny Stjernströmer Björk who, after outlining Netflix’s strategy for Northern Europe, explained what the company’s attitude is: “We have to go even deeper, be braver and surprise with new stories, adding documentary series, building new genres and types of content. We have a format ‘Love It Blind’, which comes from the US and of which we now make a Swedish version.”
