Netflix is marking ten years in Italy today in Rome with co-CEO Ted Sarandos in town to announce a new venture with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC) national film school. This will see the pair refurbish and reopen Rome’s Cinema Europa theatre.
The announcement, which Netflix is calling “symbolic,” was made this morning at Italy’s Ministry for Culture during a busy month in Rome, which is currently hosting the MIA Market event just up the road from Netflix’s plush local office, and the Rome Film Festival between October 15-26.
The Cinema Europa theater – known for hosting the first ever public film screening in Italy, Filoteo Alberini’s La Presa di Roma –was closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, but will be refurbished and retooled as a space for film culture, education and research. Netflix will contribute to the costs, and use it to hosts its own non-commercial initiatives and special events.
The CSC will manage the theater and oversee its programming, and the goal is “to create a space that will become a point of reference for the cultural outreach activities of [the CSC]’s National Film Archive and for the projects of the students of their National Film School — the new talent of the future.”
The move comes as Netflix reaches 10 ten years in Italy, during which time it has launched shows such a Suburra, Supersex and The Leopard. Sarandos said today Netflix says it has worked on “more than 1,000” Italian films and TV shows and filmed in more than 100 cities since 2015.
Addressing various industry and political figures today, Sarandos said: “Coming to Italy is always a joy, but this visit is especially meaningful because this year marks Netflix’s tenth anniversary in Italy. In just a decade, we have gone on an incredible adventure.”
The Netflix chief said the strategy had been to “showcase every facet of Italy – the unrivalled cultural heritage, vibrant landscapes, mouthwatering food and, of course, the warmth and passion of the Italian people.”
He reeled off several “tangible” impacts the global streamer had made in those ten years, notbaly that Netflix has “supported more than 5,500 jobs in the Italian audiovisual sector” and that between 2021 and 2024, it “contributed more than €1.1B to Italy’s economy.”
He said Cinema Europa initiative was “more than a restoration project.” Instead, it was “a collaboration with one of the world’s most prestigious film schools and custodians of Italian cinema heritage.”
“Cinema Europa is woven into the creative fabric of Italy – built on the site of the first open-air screening of an Italian film, exactly 120 years ago,” he added. “Bringing it back to life is to endow the creative community with a place to meet, share ideas and celebrate storytelling.
Sarandos appeared at the press conference, which opened with a video address from the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, alongside host Gabriella Buontempo, President of the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
“This agreement between the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and Netflix represents a concrete example of virtuous collaboration between the public and private sectors, and between tradition and innovation,” said Giuli in his address. “This agreement benefits the professional growth of young talent and the promotion of Italian film culture worldwide. Netflix demonstrates a particular sensitivity and attention to Italy through the production of films, TV series, and documentaries that tell the story of our nation.”
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