Founded by veteran producer Riccardo Tozzi in 1997, and expanded upon the arrival in 1999 of new partners, Giovanni Stabilini and Marco Chimenz, Cattleya established itself as Italy’s leading independent production company. The company has produced over 50 feature films, television series and miniseries and won numerous awards and has been home to three official entries for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received an Academy Award nomination.

Over the last 5 years, the company has created strong ties with a numerous group of talent boasting elevated artistic and commercial potential. Cattleya’s goal is to achieve and maintain an annual level of production of 6 to 8 film and television projects featuring the company’s unique blend of attention to quality and broad public appeal.

Recent projects include Don’t tell (2006) by Cristina Comencini ( nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 at the Academy Awards), My Brother is an Only Child (2007), directed by Daniele Luchetti (selected for Un Certain Regard at 2007 Cannes Film Festival), Terraferma (2012), directed by Emanuele Crialese (Italy’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at 2012 Oscar Award).

Benvenuti al Nord, directed by Luca Miniero, released on January 18th of 2012, became the top grossing film of the season, with 24.5 M€ in 2010, after just three weeks, and after the massive success of Benvenuti al Sud in 2010, which grossed 30 M€ making it the 3rd highest-grossing Italian film ever.

Aurelio De Laurentiis founded FILMAURO in 1975 with more than 300 films to its credit in terms of production and distribution. He is the mind behind some series of movies that have been real blockbusters. Most recent hits include Natale sul Nilo, Christmas in Love, Manuale d’Amore, and Il mio miglior nemico (My best enemy). He has also co-produced French films such as Tais Toi and Les Rivières Pourpres 2, and is now developing various international projects, such as Io Uccido (based on Giorgio Faletti’s best-seller), I Beati Paoli (based on Luigi Natoli’s novel) and The Empire of Dragons (based on Valerio Manfredi’s best-seller).

FILMAURO not only finances films, but also has its own distribution house and home video distribution system.

From 1993 to 2003 Aurelio De Laurentiis was President of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF, 26 member countries) and was then made Honorary President for life.

Rai Cinema was set up in December 1999 and has become fully operational since June 1st, 2000 through the creation from the holding RAI of the corporate branch in charge of purchasing films and fiction programmes on the national and international markets and also in charge of the production and distribution activities.

Rai Cinema is a Rai Group Company established with the specific purpose of strengthening the Italian cinematographic industry. The obligation to invest in Italian cinema productions, originally provided for by the law, turned over time into an opportunity for developing the cultural industry of the country. Rai Cinema offers its ideational, productive and financial contribution to independent producers who intend to implement projects in the cinematographic field. In so doing, Rai Cinema has contributed and is still contributing to the realization of a considerable share of the Italian cinema, from the works of the great masters to those of quite a few neophytes that, in such a way, have the chance of taking their first steps in the cinema. Important films, bought in the international markets, back up this quality production, creating a list that succeeds in attaining mutual synergic effects.

With a view to ensuring the maximum visibility to its own titles, Rai Cinema is operating in the film distribution and home video sector through 01 Distribution, a subsidiary company that, in just a few years, has achieved an important position in the domestic film distribution, ensuring a previously unknown support to Italy's new quality cinema. Just as important is Rai Cinema's commitment with respect to the acquisition of audio-visual products both in Italy and abroad, to ensure that the Rai Networks might meet all their programming requirements in terms of films, TV-movies, TV-series and cartoons. Within this context, Rai Cinema is actively monitoring the national and international market of television rights, following closely the available contents, the product evolution and features, the typology and content of the rights, the contractual standards, the offer platforms and the competitive scenarios.

Besides, Rai Cinema sees to the enhancement of its rights catalogue in every segment of the audio-visual media sector, supplying the relative product to all the transmission platforms on which Rai operates and entering into specific marketing agreements with the other operators present in the national and international markets.