 | |
| Company type | Società per azioni (S.p.A.) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Products | Feature films |
| Parent | Mediaset |
| Website | medusa |
Medusa Film S.p.A. is an Italian film production and distribution company owned by Mediaset. It is one of the top film producers and distributors in the country. [1]
Medusa Distribuzione S.p.A. was founded by Felice Colaiacono and Franco Poccioni in 1964. [2] Initially only focused on distribution, thanks to executive producer Franco Rossellini , in the 1970s the company began collaborating with other production companies, including Devon Film and Luciano Martino's Dania Film , and co-produced successful genre films and comedies. In 1983, Poccioni became the sole administrator of the company. [3] [4]
In July 1986, Reteitalia , a subsidiary of Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest, acquired a 49% ownership interest in Medusa. [5] [6] Two years later, in 1988, Reteitalia took full ownership of the company, however, the following year, Medusa was subsequently absorbed into Penta Film . [7] [8]
In 1995, Penta Film was dissolved and Medusa Film was restored. [9] [10] [11] Carlo Bernasconi was appointed president, and the company resumed operations in 1996. [12] [13] In 1999, Medusa announced that it would begin producing its own films. [14] [15] That year, Riccardo Tozzi signed a five-year contract to produce films for the company. [16] Following the death of Bernasconi in 2001, Marina Berlusconi was appointed president of Medusa. [17]
In 2002, Variety reported that Medusa Film was the second leading film distributor in Italy, holding 14% of the country's total market share. [18] In 2005, the European Audiovisual Observatory reported that Medusa was the fourth leading film distributor in Italy, holding 10.3% of the country's total market share. [19]
In July 2007, Medusa Film was sold to Mediaset, [20] [21] and Pier Silvio Berlusconi was appointed to its board of directors. [22] In November 2012, Medusa sold its home video division to Warner Bros. Italia. [23]
| Year | Title | Director | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Good Bad Guy | Ezio Greggio | |
| 1999 | Midsummer Night's Dance | Pupi Avati | [24] |
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| National | |
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