16/05/2016 - CANNES 2016: The three most influential European funds have partnered up to harmonise the provision of subsidies, and make funds and regulations more accessible and complementary

Yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival, an agreement was signed by the Roma Lazio Film Commission, Ile de France and the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the three most influential European funds, in order to foster European and international co-productions. The provision of various forms of subsidies will be harmonised so that the funds and regulations of these three European regions will become more easily accessible to film and TV producers, and will be able to complement each other. 

"Lazio is the second region in Europe to invest in cinema, following Berlin-Brandenburg: we are contributing €23 million to enable the growth of this sector, which is very important for our economy and for our cultural identity," explained the president of the Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti, who was one of the signatories of the agreement. "Like Lazio, Ile de France and Berlin-Brandenburg have considerable funds dedicated to the film and audiovisual industry, which are organised in a stable and totally groundbreaking way; the document that all three of us have signed will therefore be useful in strengthening the appeal of these regions as filming locations, and top-notch areas for film and audiovisual productions and co-productions. Together, we can also facilitate the distribution of European cinematic and audiovisual works, foster a new generation of film and audiovisual professionals, and support the creation of joint activities and professional and educational exchanges, the distribution of works and the development of co-production projects involving the three countries: Italy, France and Germany." 

The new edition of the "Lazio Cinema International Call for Entries" for international co-productions was also announced, which, like last year’s edition, is likely to have a cap of €10 million. The results of the first edition will be made public in June, while the next call will be presented at the MIA, the International Audiovisual Market, which will unspool in October during the Rome Film Fest. These European funds total €35 million, and the region has earmarked them to finance the creation of film and audiovisual co-productions between at least one Lazio-based SME and one or more foreign producer.

Furthermore, every year the region supports the production of Italian, European and foreign cinematic and audiovisual works, by granting subsidies with its €9.5 million regional fund. Lastly, in 2016, Lazio will fund many of the over 150 film festivals and projects that take place in the region, to the tune of €2.4 million, also contributing to the staging of the two international gatherings: the RomaFictionFest (22-25 September 2016) and the Rome Film Fest (13-23 October 2016).