Hosted by Stefano Scauri, President of the Italian Blu-ray Disc promotion group, the festival featured an impressive walled display of HDTVs and BD players, each screening a variety of BD content with product experts on hand to answer questions.

Journalists attending the festival’s press day included representatives from CNBC TV, Repubblica.it and Corriere Magazine. They were treated to screenings of several Blu-ray Discs, including Angels & Demons and The Bourne Supremacy, and interviews with Stefano and the rest of the Italian promotions team.

As a result the festival enjoyed widespread media coverage – including articles in Repubblica.it and Corriere.it, and video coverage on Condé Nast website MenStyle.it.

Milan
A BD film festival in Milan is taking place at the Cinema Apollo from the 7th – 10th October. The first day is reserved for press, with the following three days open to the public.

Media attending the festival will be able to attend the first ever Blu-ray Disc screening of Disney Pixar’s Up, hear the latest statistical data for the Italian region, review the BD promotional group’s local activity and discuss future developments for the format, including 3D.

Prague
A three-day BD festival is taking place from the 15th – 17th October at the Village Cinema, Angelo Hotel and Andel Hotel in central Prague.

Timed to coincide with the ‘Home Cinema Prague’ exhibition, which attracts a high volume of press attendees, the festival will include two themed afternoons (‘HD – the future of home entertainment’ on the 15th and ‘BD – the new quality of surround sound’ on the 16th), exclusive BD screenings and opportunities for one-to-one briefings with local Blu-ray Disc spokespeople.

Brussels
Two BD press workshops will take place at the Event Lounge in Brussels on the 29th October. The first will cater for Flemish speaking press and the second for Walloon speakers.

As Belgian consumers strive to get the maximum out of their HDTVs, the Blu-ray Disc format is growing in popularity. The events will highlight to the media BD’s success in the region, breaking through into what has traditionally been a tough market.

Details on other BD events happening later in the year will appear here over the next few weeks.

Both companies have a strong heritage in the Italian home entertainment industry. Medusa produces and distributes Italian and international movies, while 01 Distribution is the Italian distribution company owned by Rai Cinema.

As members, both will now help the Italian Blu-ray Disc Promotion Group to promote the BD format in the region.