On Tuesday, July 7, the new Pitch Crime competition was presented at PalaRiccione as part of the second edition of the Italian Global Series Festival, held in Rimini and Riccione from July 3 to 11, 2026.Promoted by APA – Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi, Pitch Crime is dedicated to the development of original and innovative crime series projects for the Italian and international audiovisual markets, with the aim of supporting new creative talent and connecting emerging writers with producers. A total of five projects were presented in front of the most important Italian Producers, and all offered different angles on the crime genre, ranging from true-crime investigation to serial fiction, historical crime, social drama and speculative technology-driven storytelling.
Among the projects with the strongest serial potential was Kanun, focused on marijuana trafficking between Italy and Albania. The subject offers a fertile ground for a multi-season crime drama, combining organised crime, cross-border trafficking, geopolitical tension and personal stories. Its narrative world seems broad enough to sustain a long-form series structure.Among the projects, La Traccia Nascosta, which appeared particularly suitable for a documentary investigation, focuses on a new clue connected to the Aldo Moro case, as the 50th anniversary of the Via Fani massacre approaches. Its strength lies in the possibility of reopening one of the most painful and unresolved chapters of Italian history through a contemporary investigative lens.
A very different approach came from Bloody Soap Opera, presented by the Naples-based production company Tile. The project revisits the disturbing story of Leonarda Cianciulli, known as the “Soap-Maker of Correggio”, one of Italy’s most infamous female serial killers. With its mix of historical crime, macabre elements and strong female-centred narrative, the project seems to have the ingredients for a dark, visually powerful scripted series.
Another emotionally intense presentation was Il Giornalista più scomodo, centred on the story of journalist Gennaro De Stefano, who was unjustly accused of drug dealing while investigating the notorious Balsorano murder case, which caused a major stir in Italy in the 1990s. The project combines crime, journalism and judicial injustice, opening up a broader reflection on the risks faced by those who investigate uncomfortable truths.
Finally, young Bocconi graduate Tommaso Romanelli presented Il Cane, a project that looks at the devastating effects of technology and artificial intelligence. The story begins when a robotic dog bursts into Bocconi University and kills the CEO of a tech company. By combining crime, AI anxiety and the academic-business world, the project introduces a contemporary and provocative angle, reflecting growing concerns around automation, surveillance and technological power.
