26/03/2014 - Research by the Rosselli Foundation for Luce Cinecittà highlights the dynamic growth of regional film commissions in their help with television and cinema production

With a budget of around €10 million in 2013, 80 full-time employees and a number of specialised consultants and collaborators, the 18 Italian Film Commissions are the propulsive motor for Italy’s audiovisual sector at the regional level. This was the main finding by a piece of research called "Il senso del cinema e dell'audiovisivo per i territori" (the meaning of cinema for regional audiovisual industries), conducted by the Rosselli Foundation, between July and November 2013, on behalf of Luce Cinecittà, with supervision from the Direzione generale Cinema del Mibact (head of cinema at the ministry for cultural heritage) and collaboration from the Associazione nazionale delle Film Commission (national association for film commissions).

Data, presented yesterday at the Mibact, highlighted that in 2012, national productions directly spent €260 million on the ground thanks to regional public support. This money was overwhelmingly managed by film commissions, with €56.3 million total. That same year, out of 1,064 productions, which were filmed across regions, for a total of 3,674 days worked, around 300 people obtained technical and logistical support in the areas of hospitality, permits, location research and consultations of various natures.

The first estimates from 2013 indicate growing trends for productions receiving assistance and financing. As of today, in Italy, 24 film funds can be counted as supporting the audiovisual industry, mainly supported by the regions to which these belong. Regional intervention, underlined by research, has come to weigh more than a quarter of national contributions, and as a total already surpass direct national contributions (excluding contributions from box-office revenue) destined for cinema though the ministry and the Fondo Unico per lo Spettacolo (in 2013 €22 million).  

Taking the lion’s share in regional contributions were the regions of Lazio and la Lombardy, where 50% of businesses and workers are, and which alone cover 60% of the added value. Other notable regions are Apulia, Basilicata (available resources yet to be released) and Alto Adige, ahead of more solid regions such as Piedmont and Tuscany. 

(Translated from Italian)