Cannes – RAI Com, the Italian public broadcaster’s division for trading in content rights, closed deals for over EUR 1 million recently. It achieved international success, with rights to both the new episodes 31 and 32 and classic earlier episodes selling in the US (MHZ), UK (BBC), Austalia and New Zealand (Hi Gloss), Russia (IGMAR), France (France Television) and Latin America (AMC).

“RAI Com had another solid year at MIPTV,” comments Mattia Oddone, RAI Com Head of International Sales. “The international market is looking for content with a strong feel of place, a quality in which Italian productions excel.”

The freshly restored version of Michele Placido’s pathbreaking Mafia-themed series La Piovra was picked up in by Source 1 for the Benelux countries, Russia’s Syncrony and Vietnam .Strong interest in UK and US for The Bastards of Pizzofalcone, a new crime series hugely successful in its Italian home market about the redemption of a rogue police unit in its fight against organized crime.

The Ladies’ Paradise, a drama set in the 1950’s economic miracle about an eponymous revolutionary store in Milan where beauty and luxury are within everyone’s grasp, scored in Georgia , Serbia , Slovakia and China . Cultural content also did well, led by the sale of the Latin American theatrical rights of the All’Opera project to US-based Castalia Communications.

RAI Com distributes more than 600 films and 15000 hours of high quality TV programs worldwide with a focus on top notch author films. RAI Com recently added English-speaking genre movies and classic quality Italian libraries. As the exclusive sales company of RAI Holding, RAI Com offers year-round support to all major Italian directors as well as to emerging talents in best placing their titles in the international market with the same passion and care for cinema it has demonstrated since its founding in 1968.