Manuela Cacciamani has been named the new CEO of Rome’s legendary Cinecittà Studios. The announcement was made by Lucia Borgonzoni, Italy’s Undersecretary of Culture, who also confirmed Chiara Sbarigia for another three-year term as President of Cinecittà.
“I am extremely proud to see two women and professionals like Manuela Cacciamani and Chiara Sbarigia at the top of a pillar of the Italian audiovisual industry like Cinecittà,” Borgonzoni said in a statement to THR Roma. “Their dedication and expertise will be fundamental in facing the global challenges of this sector, promoting the production of high-quality content that reflects the cultural and creative richness of our country. Italy has demonstrated, with our strong investment plans and the Tax Credit legislation, that it wants to be center stage for cinema in the world, and Cinecittà will represent a fundamental asset.”
Cacciamani brings extensive experience in film and digital media to her new role, as well as a more personal connection with her new post: Her involvement in cinema began at a very young age when her father worked as a custodian at Cinecittà. At the age of 16, she was awarded a scholarship for arts and new technologies by Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi Montalcini. In her 20’s, she had the opportunity to work on productions by great directors like Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Steven Soderbergh, mostly as a production assistant or coordinator on films like Gangs of New York, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Ocean’s Twelve. Fatefully, all these projects were primarily shot at Cinecittà, the studio she now leads.
She then had an opportunity to do post-production work for a Miramax film in New York, where her passion for post-processing and VFX was born. This lead to her work with Direct 2 Brain, a VFX factory which participated in many projects, including post-production for the 2015 remake of Ben Hur, also shot at Cinecittà. In 2006, Cacciamani founded the company One More Pictures to produce commercials, films, documentaries and short films. She won numerous international Promax awards and the Giffoni Film Festival 6+ Award for a children’s film.
She became president of Digital Publishers and Creators Union at ANICA (a trade organization in Italy that represents companies operating in the film, audiovisual, and digital media sectors), leveraging her expertise in the creator economy while continuing to work in the film industry. She is very active in social causes, especially concerning young people and their relationship with social media, digitalization, and web risk prevention. She curated the book “Digital Storytelling” published by Luiss University Press.
Chiara Sbarigia studied music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, later earning an Anthropology Masters Degree from La Sapienza University in Rome. In 1994, she joined the Television Producers Association, which was later renamed APA (Audiovisual Producers Association), where she advanced to general manager in 2016 and president in 2023. Sbarigia is an expert in international promotion, coordinating Italian companies’ participation in global audiovisual markets held in Rome. From 2007 to 2016 she directed the RomaFictionFest, an APA-owned international festival for TV series. Starting from its second edition, the event included an industry section that would later become the International Audiovisual Market (MIA). Since 2017, she has been on the Steering Committee of MIA, which she co-directed from 2016 to 2019.
Since April 20, 2021, she has been the President of Cinecittà, focusing on film promotion, training, museum activities and overseeing the parent company Luce Institute, keeper of the Historical Film Archives and one of the world’s oldest public institutions dedicated to the production and distribution of educational and documentary films since 1924.
Cacciamani’s appointment marks a new chapter for Cinecittà. Her predecessor, Nicola Maccanico, resigned on June 27, 2024, despite his successful tenure since 2021, during which he achieved 100 million euros ($108 million) in industrial revenue and hosted over 50 major productions. His departure comes amid Italy’s transition to a right-wing government, although rumors of political influence in his resignation have been denied.
Cinecittà Studios, known worldwide as Hollywood on the Tiber, has undergone a renaissance in recent years, fueled by significant investments. Returning to state ownership in 2016 after 20 years of private management, the Italian Ministry of Culture invested 37 million euros ($40 million) to expand and refurbish the famed studio. This investment aimed to transform the facility into a creative hub for all audiovisual productions and to ensure financial stability and growth. After the Covid-19 disruption, Cinecittà reported significant financial growth in 2022, with industrial activities recording a turnover of 39 million euros ($42 million), more than double the previous year’s figures. These positive results were bolstered by investments related to the Recovery Plan, which aims to expand production capacity and improve facilities.
The studio has embraced digital filmmaking and high-definition technologies, becoming a favorite location for large-scale productions like HBO’s Rome and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Young Pope. Recent expansions include new digital production facilities and sound stages to accommodate the latest cinematic technology.
The resurgence of Cinecittà reflects broader trends in the global film industry, including the rising demand for studio space driven by streaming services and international productions. As part of its ambitious expansion project, Cinecittà plans to add five new sound stages by 2026, bringing the total to 25 sound stages, aiming for the studio to regain the international prominence it had in the 50s and 60s with productions like Roman Holiday, La Dolce Vita, Ben Hur, Cleopatra and Federico Fellini’s classic 8 ½.
More recently, Cinecittà has hosted several high-profile productions, including Netflix’s Ripley, Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, Finally the Dawn starring Lily James and Willem Dafoe, Those About to Die from director Roland Emmerich, starring Anthony Hopkins, and Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, the Daniel Craig starrer which will premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival in August. Italian filmmaker Paola Cortellesi also shot her film C’è Ancora Domani at Cinecittà, which grossed nearly 40 million euros ($43 million) as of its release on October 26, 2023, making it the highest-grossing Italian film of the year and surpassing major releases like Barbie and Oppenheimer in admissions.
Cacciamani and Sbarigia join a number of prominent women who hold influential positions in Italy’s entertainment and media industry. Maria Pia Ammirati leads RAI Fiction as head of production, while Tinny Andreatta serves as Netflix’s vp for Italian Content. Nicole Morganti heads Amazon’s Local Original Content for South Europe, Antonella Dominici serves as svp Paramount+ Streaming South Europe, Middle East & Africa, while Antonella D’Errico is the executive vp Sky Italy and president of Vision Distribution. Other notable figures include producers Raffaella Leone, CEO of Leone Film Group, and Francesca Cima, co-founder of Indigo Film.
Despite these achievements, female directors in Europe remain few, poorly paid and often face budget constraints. For instance, among 22 Italian films with budgets over 6 million euros ($6.4 million) produced in 2022-23, Cortellesi and Alice Rohrwacher were the only women directors. Data from 2023 showed that only 15 percent of Italian films were directed by women, a figure that increased to 20 percent by May 2024. Domizia De Rosa, president of Italian Women in Film, Television & Media, notes that while progress is being made, the industry still offers minimal promotional support for female-led projects. The latest APA research reveals that women in business management roles within the core audiovisual industry comprised 23.1 percent in 2022, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and support. Initiatives such as Netflix’s “Becoming Maestre” and various mentoring programs are, insiders say, essential for advancing gender equality in the sector.
To underscore these issues, THR Roma will soon be announcing the Italian edition of Women in Entertainment, the annual THR event that celebrates the achievements of women while fostering programs and grants to help young women break through in the entertainment industry.