Editor

Just forty-eight hours after the second edition of The Business Street has come to a close, while film sales and acquisitions are being confirmed and deals finalized, it's the figures that best represent the success of this event:

- 142 screenings (up from 130 in 2006)

- 83 films available in the video libraries (Hotel Bernini, the Auditorium Cinema Village)

- 25 market premieres, among them Piano, solo by Riccardo Milani (sold by Adriana Chiesa Enterprises), The Secret by Vincent Perez (EuropaCorp), Sous les toits de Paris by Hiner Saleem (Wild Bunch)

- a high turnout for international industry professionals:

250 buyers (160 in 2006) among which The Weinstein Company, Canal Plus, MK2, Prokino, CJ, Happinet, Sandrew Metronome, Momentum, Vertigo Films, Gaga, Broad Media, King Records and many more, and 60 sellers from 40 production companies:

Non Stop Sales, Wild Bunch, Celluloid Dreams/Dreamachine, Sogepaq, TF1, The Match Factory, Bavaria, Gaumont, Pyramide, Films Distribution and many more.

- 600 accredited professionals (440 in 2006) from 40 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Hungary, and Ukraine.

Topping the list for the number of accredited professionals: France, Germany, U.K., U.S., and Japan, as well as Italy, of course, which could boast the active participation of the all following institutions: the Rome Chamber of Commerce, the Lazio Region with its own agencies Sviluppo Lazio, Filas, and Rome and Lazio Film Commission; along with ICE, the Institute for Foreign Trade, the Ministry of International Trade with its Minister Emma Bonino; as well as the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, with Minister Francesco Rutelli on hand to welcome guests at the opening dinner for The Business Street. Also participating in the event were Confindustria with the Indian FICCI who brought along a delegation of 68 producers, the Associazione dei Documentaristi, the Media Consulting Group, and the API (Associazione dei Produttori Indipendenti), all of which joined with The Business Street to organized the respective conferences, economic forums, and the meeting to size up the current situation of cinema contents and financing. A variety of partners united by the same goal: to support film production and promote both the national and the European film industries.

Italian films dominated the market screenings with the highest attendance at The Business Street, with Riccardo Milani's Piano, solo taking first place, followed by L'Abbuffata by Mimmo Calopresti and La giusta distanza by Carlo Mazzacurati. International products most-seen included 12 by Nikita Mikhalkov (Venice Film Festival), Peur(s) du Noir, the surprise film for Cinema2007, followed by Ben X by Nic Balthazar, The Princess of Nebraska di Wayne Wang (Toronto 2007), The Secret by Vincent Perez, Ce que mes yeux ont vu by Laurent De Bartillat (Cinema2007), Suso's Tower by Tom Fernandez, Reclaim Your Brain by Hans Weingartner, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Wayne Wang, Before the Rains by Santosh Sivan, and The Three Robbers by Hayo Freitag (Alice nella città).

As well as the above institutions Business Street would like to thank once again Cinecittà Holding, Krug and its splendid Terrace at the Hotel Bernini Bristol, the Hotel Excelsior, and Rai Trade for it new digital service of 14 video library booths, Unioncamere Nazionale for its hospitality at the Hortii Sallustiani, hosting all our meetings from October 19th to 21st, and finally, Technicolor for its technical support. The Business Street is curated by Giorgio Gosetti, manager; Silvain Auzou, and Diamara Parodi.