19/05/2012 - The Apulia Film Commission Foundation will present its new international fund in support of foreign film productions tomorrow in Cannes

Five years since it was set up and with over 160 productions already supported, the Apulia Film Commission Foundation is now increasing its funding program for film production companies shooting in Apulia with three grant schemes which offer total funding of €2,500,000.

A substantial share of this total is dedicated to a new grant aimed exclusively towards international productions filming in Apulia. This is the Apulia International Film Fund, direct financial support in the form of a free grant to cover the costs of production for European and non-European audiovisual, film and TV production companies presenting projects for full-length fiction films, TV films and TV series.

Funding is available for European and non-European audiovisual, film and TV productions with an executive Italian production company or with a minority Italian co-production company.

The total endowment of the new fund for 2012 is €500,000 and each applying film project may receive a maximum grant of €200,000. The amount of allowable grant, also when added to other forms of funding (including tax credit and tax shelter), may not exceed 50% of total production costs.

The Apulia International Film Fund will reimburse 15% of the production costs incurred in Apulia, thus allowing non-Italian producers to obtain a further 25% tax credit provided for by Italian law. In addition, production companies will enjoy a VAT-free status following international legislation which excludes VAT for agreements between Italian executive producers and foreign producers.

As a result, a total saving of 61% is available for non-Italian production companies filming in Apulia.