25/05/2017 - CANNES 2017: During the festival on the Côte d'Azur, the Lazio region also launched the second part of the 2016 Lazio Cinema International call for entries

(l-r) Joanna Gallardo, Piluca Querol, Teresa Azcona, Luciano Sovena, Lamal Souissi, Nicola Zingaretti, Nejib Ayed and Cristina Priarone, at Cannes

During the Cannes Film Festival, an important new agreement was signed to establish the first Euro-Mediterranean Audiovisual Centre. The signatories were Lamal Souissi, president of the Tanger Tetouan Al Hoceima Film Commission; Piluca Querol, president of the Andalucía Film Commission; Teresa Azcona, Spain Film Commission; Joanna Gallardo, director of the Île-de-france Film Commission; Nejib Ayed, director of the Carthage Film Festival; and Luciano Sovena, president of the Roma Lazio Film Commission.

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"Personally, I think that the cultural dialogue between countries with common roots can, and must, be improved and strengthened," said Luciano Sovena. "The agreement for the Euro-Mediterranean Centre takes on particular significance both from the standpoint of the film industry and also from a social and political point of view at this particular moment in history."

At Cannes, the Lazio region also presented the results of the work it has so far carried out in the film sector and the initiatives it will undertake in the future. President Nicola Zingaretti described the new features of the second part of the 2016 Lazio Cinema International call for entries, which is earmarking an annual investment of €10 million in international co-productions. The amount is part of wider European contributions totalling €35 million. The initiative is aimed at supporting investments in film and audiovisual productions that involve a joint partnership between the Lazio and foreign industries, international distribution and the creation of products that will guarantee Lazio’s tourist destinations heightened international visibility. A further objective is to boost the ability of Lazio-based production companies to work on major international co-productions and to promote shoots in Lazio, thus facilitating the involvement of companies across the entire sector (ranging from technical industries to post-production). Lastly, it aims to attract big international productions to the area, with a clear, positive knock-on effect for the entire range of satellite activities, thus promoting the Lazio region and its distinctive characteristics overseas.

"We have made an effort on more fronts," said Zingaretti. "For example, the Lazio Film Fund invests €9 million in cinematic works recognised as ‘cultural products’ made entirely or partially in Lazio, and the Revolving Film Fund has made €1.25 million available for young businesses. The film industry represents one of the pillars of our region’s cultural policies and has a considerable impact in terms of employment and development, as illustrated by the fact that there are over ten thousand people from Lazio working in the film industry. And sure enough, the number of productions and co-productions has increased, and we have relaunched beauty spots and other places in Lazio as brand-new film sets and studios that then gain a reputation on the national and international market. The numbers speak volumes, and we are particularly proud of them: 44 works have been in the running for the David di Donatello Awards in the last three years, and 29 statuettes have been won by films from Lazio in the period 2015-2017: all of these awards are linked to works that received funding from the Lazio region."

(Translated from Italian)