With today's official announcement of Carlo Chatrian having been chosen as Artistic Director of the Berlinale starting in 2020, the Italians have truly taken over world cinema. Now, let me explain. 

Apart from, obviously, Alberto Barbera at the Venice Film Festival, Giona A. Nazzaro at Venice Critics' Week, Antonio Monda at Rome FF and Emanuela Martini in Torino, there are several more Italian cinephiles sprinkled around, now heading film festivals around the world. Take Marco Müller in Pingyao China and Eva Sangiorgi who was appointed head of the Viennale back in January of 2018, after former director Hans Hurch suddenly passed away last July. Then, just a couple of months before the Cannes Film Festival was set to kick off, another announcement rocked the film world when it was made public that Paolo Moretti would replace Edouard Waintrop as General Delegate of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs starting with the 2019 edition of the beloved sidebar on the Croisette.So why are so many Italians snagging the top spots at these most coveted of film festivals? Well, I have a couple of theories.