New Wildside Boss Sonia Rovai Details The ‘My Brilliant Friend’ Outfit’s Drive To Find The Next Generation Of Italian Auteurs
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: The new boss of My Brilliant Friend producer Wildside is on a mission to discover the next generation of Italian talent.
Detailing the Fremantle-backed producer’s strategy for the first time since taking over, Sonia Rovai said she will not depart from the genres that the Italian outfit specializes in but will instead attempt to shift the dial by unearthing young scribes and directors.
Rovai said she is slowly building up a development slate featuring these voices, with projects that she will likely produce herself. “We need to push to find the Italian next generation,” she told Deadline at the AVPSummit in south Italy. “So we are selecting and working on new voices and young talent.” Rovai is “investing time” in the endeavor, she said, visiting local theaters and reaching out to those who may have left Italy to find work in nations like the UK. “To find a way to give them a voice is a challenge that I would like to achieve,” she added. “It gives you a reason to do this job, to discover new voices that have to be discovered.
Otherwise I don’t know who will be our future in 20 years.” Former Sky Italia exec Rovai took over earlier this year, replacing Mario Gianani, who formed a new co-production deal with Fremantle alongside ex-The Apartment boss Lorenzo Mieli.
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