The 'Made In Cinecittà' touch

Cinecittà is undergoing a transformation.

Led by Manuela Cacciamani, a former producer who began her career at Cinecittà on the sets of Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh, before continuing her work as an entrepreneur in the field of audiovisual and emerging technologies.

She has returned to the Rome-based studios as its first female CEO.

Cacciamani has closed contracts for significant projects with Universal and Disney, while opening the doors to Ridley Scott, who has requested the studios as a base camp and part of its set for his The Dog Stars, and is overseeing Mel Gibson’s return to Via Tuscolana 1055 to shoot The Resurrection Of Christ, the sequel to his 2004 feature The Passion Of The Christ.

Within the company’s soundstages and grounds, work is underway thanks to funds from The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, part of the European Union’s Next GenerationEU programme.

The expansion plans will see Cinecittà increase its production capacity by 60%, from 18,000 square metres to 30,000 square metres through the redevelopment of four theatres and the construction of five new ones.

Changes are also underway on the ‘green’ side, including the installation of photovoltaic panels and the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles.

The target of net-zero emissions before 2050 was set by the Cinecittà REgeneration project, launched in 2022. To date, Cinecittà has switched to a 100% renewable electricity supply to match the annual corporate carbon footprint goal.

Enriched spaces

Looking ahead, Cinecittà is seeking verification to qualify for BAFTA Albert’s Studio Sustainability Standard, the international protocol for measuring ESG performance related to film studios and soundstages.

These facets further enrich the spaces already available to filmmakers: 19 stages, including a 452-square metre LED volume stage and a residential stage with seven different settings, nine hectares of backlot, 21,000 square metres of ancillary spaces, a 35mm and 16mm development and restoration laboratory and digital video and audio post-­production rooms equipped with Dolby Premiere and Mix Atmos home entertainment systems.

All these valuable technological assets testify to the many ways in which Cinecittà can support any type of project.

These offerings are bolstered by the 'Made In Cinecittà' touch: the added value of its renowned workforce. Carpenters, painters, blacksmiths and electricians, but also operators who, with passion, ingenuity and artisanal skill, have contributed to building Cinecittà’s reputation worldwide.

Cacciamani is convinced of this: “The enormous added value of these studios compared to competitors lies above all in the talent of our workers, which is added to the investments made in technologies and spaces, creating an ecosystem of qualitatively unparalleled services.

“It is what distinguishes us in the market and translates into the ability to accompany our clients in the construction of a project with the correct flexibility to tailor the offer for each type of production.”

This article originally appeared in Screen Global Production's World Of Studios magazine.