Italian industry veteran Giovanni Tamberi is launching an ambitiouscompany that will focus on film production, distribution, communication andmultimedia education in Italy.

Under a new umbrella companyMetacinema, Tamberi will oversee three separate outfits each named afterRoberto Rossellini films. Voyage In Italy (Viaggio in Italia) will focus eachyear on the production of two market-orientated, culturally stimulating moviesby first or second-time Italian directors.

Paisa will operate as adistribution outfit for some 10 medium-budget Italian films each year. Thesewill be sourced from Viaggio In Italia as well as companies outside Metacinema.Paisa will also offer external companies distribution and marketing services.

The third leg, Cartesius willfocus on multimedia education in close collaboration with Italy's leading filmschools and universities. Students will be guided in discussions on a range ofsocial and cultural issues, with the aim of developing the ideas that evolvefrom the classroom into screenplays with a firm eye on market value.

"The market has changedand we need a new film language that can attract 18-25 year-oids. We need tocreate a new kind of Italian cinema," Tamberi told Screendaily.

Based in Rome, Metacinema is currently developing two untitled pictures.One will centre around the theme of man's selfishness towards women, while thesecond film will focus on the change human emotions undergo between day andnight.

In January 2002, Tamberi left his position as head of distribution atItaly's state-owned outfit Istituto Luce where he was largely responsible forrevamping the company's image thanks to a number of hits such as SilvioSoldlini's Bread And Tulips. Previously, he worked in distribution,production and marketing at Bim Distribuzione, Lucky Red and Titanus.