Italy’s Claudio Rapino, Andrea Iervolino, Pietro Peligra Team on New Sales Outfit Maestro Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran Italian film executive Claudio Rapino, prominent producer Andrea Iervolino and entrepreneur Pietro Peligra have teamed to form film and TV distribution and development company Maestro Distribution, which will launch from the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Rapino (pictured left), a former head of acquisitions and sales at top Italian companies including Leone Film Group, Notorious Pictures and Koch Media Italia, will head Maestro, which plans to buy and theatrically distribute up to 10 international feature films a year.
The new company will also act as an international sales agent and an incubator, developing film and TV content and selling original IPs to producers and international partners. “The idea is to handle 50% finished product and 50% product that we develop,” Rapino said, adding that he will be “developing content mostly in non-Italian languages such as French, German or English to then sell the IP.” Maestro, which is working with a team of writers to develop these IPs, will not be involved in physical production.
On the finished product side, Maestro will be seeking to buy full-rights for mostly U.S. and European indie titles that the company will release theatrically through an outside service, but will do their own marketing.
Read more on variety.com