“It’s offered a mirror to check how we’re doing,” Caspian Films on Investment Readiness and giving female auteurs a voice
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Helping international stories reach mainstream audiences has always been tricky. However thanks to streaming, this content has not only been delivered directly into homes across the UK but welcomed with eager eyes. It’s a cultural pivot point that has paved the way for Paguro Film to make its mark on pop culture. Founded by producer Giada Mazzoleni, it’s already found success with two critically praised documentaries focusing on two giants of Italian cinema. Now, with the help of Creative Enterprise, Mazzoleni is ready to take things to the next level.
“I’ve always worked in Italy’s film and TV sector for big companies like Disney and Freemantle and in 2017 I decided to start my own production company,” says Mazzoleni, recalling the path that led her to create Paguro Film. “I wanted to use my links with the Italian markets to produce content that would focus on Italian topics but still be of interest to international markets.”
Wasting no time, Paguro produced Fulci For Fake, a documentary about influential Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci that premiered at the Venice Film Festival before catching Universal Studios’ attention, and a short movie entitled Moths To Flame, which played at film festivals around the world. Next, Mazzoleni produced a second documentary, this time about Giallo auteur Dario Argento. Entitled Dario Argento Panico, Paguro’s second feature was equally successful, featuring input from internationally known filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn and eventually landing on horror-loving streamer Shudder.
“After this, I started to create my slate of features,” says Mazzoleni of her next steps. “Each will be directed by European directors or have links to Europe but the idea is to always shoot in English and tell stories about diversity, climate change and female-led stories.” After attending several intensive training courses at the likes of Biennale College and the European Film Forum, Mazzoleni’s path has led her to Creative UK. “I’m attending the Investment Readiness programme because I want to raise investment for these first features.”
From a wider perspective, Mazzoleni also hopes Paugro will help facilitate new opportunities for international talent to create engaging new content for English-speaking markets. “The arrival of platforms like Netflix has put attention on global stories,” she tells us. “In my opinion, when you’re a European voice operating in the UK territory, it’s very important to diversify the content, provide opportunities to tell different stories and give the people who belong to those different backgrounds the possibility to tell their stories.”
This last point is something that particularly resonates with Mazzoleni and her own experiences working within the film and TV sector. As a result, she would like to see Paguro Film build a talent pool of European storytellers and level the playing field regarding the stories audiences are ultimately served.
“The fact that I’m of Italian origin doesn’t just mean that I have to tell stories about the mafia, pizza and the mandolino,” laughs the producer. “There are plenty of scenarios and lots of different and amazing narratives that can be told by European directors and storytellers who choose the UK as the country they work in. I intend to create a pool of European talent and give them the chance to work within the UK.”
To help achieve this goal, Mozzoleni has enrolled on the Investment Readiness cohort to help obtain the skills needed to attract the right type of investment. Having previously been part of a few different levelling up programmes aimed at creative founders – including our own Market Trader scheme – Mazzoleni believes this is a great opportunity to put all of her skills into action.
“This course has been amazing because it’s talking about investment, how to find investors and how to pitch them,” she smiles. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to learn but didn’t know how and the course has been amazing in helping me to fix this.” Investment Readiness has also provided key insight into how other creatives approach the same goal: “It’s very useful because I’m meeting people who are well established and produce their own IP. It’s interesting to see how they focus on the production of their work but also how you need to be careful to ensure what you do is sustainable.”
Working with an industry mentor has also been a highlight, specifically when it comes to knowing what to focus on. “It’s been amazing to be working with someone who helps companies achieve investment,” says Mazzoleni, pointing to how the collaboration provides some much-needed perspective. “Suddenly you have a light-bulb go off in your mind and you understand perfectly what you need to do. Without the help of someone with an external point-of-view, that’s very difficult to do.”
As Mazzoleni’s Investment Readiness journey rolls on, she hopes Paguro Film will soon be in a position to secure the financing it needs to reach an exciting new chapter. “I’d like to have the tools to grow and the opportunity to find myself in front of the right people, more and more,” she says, looking to the future. “I’d love to start by obtaining finance for my first project then to show people I have the credibility to finance my slate and establish a position in the market,” explains Mazzoleni. “This programme gives you the ability to obtain trust from people and I think the biggest thing I can do is to try and repay their trust with success.”
Words and interview by Simon Bland
https://www.simonbland.com/