4. State funding for film production
The Italian film board, or Direzione Generale per il Cinema funds Italian film production by means of indirect intervention for feature-length and short films, and by direct intervention that take the form of premiums for quality and contributions to the box office takes.
Access to state funding for feature film production was regulated by Law n°1213 of 4 November 1965, and subsequently integrated and partially modified by Law n° 153 of 1 March 1994.
The size of the grant and the procedure for accessing it varies according to the whether or not the Italian film in question can be classified under one of the folowing two categories:domestic productions or productions of cultural interest to the nation.
1. Domestic productions
These productions are eligible for smaller grants – up to 70 per cent of the budget – but the procedure is much faster and depends on a decision by the Film Credit Commission. However there are a number of clauses linked to the production process (shooting in Italy or abroad, use of studios, etc.). It is also limited by the degree to which Italian companies enter into international co-productions. The money must be restored in full by the producer albeit at a favourable tax rate (around 5 per cent).
2. Films of Cultural Interest to the Nation
After getting the go-ahead from the Consultative Commission for Cinema, productions can receive funding under the following terms:
a) the Intervention Fund together with the Guarantee Fund (see Law 153/1994). A production can apply to be classified as being of cultural interest for “cultural and artistic reasons” or “artistic and entertaining reasons” and, according to the ruling of the above-mentioned Commission, these reasons must be “significative”.
The Guarantee Fund ensured that films by people like Nanni Moretti, Gabriele Salvatores, Francesca Archibugi, Marco Risi, Pasquale Pozzessere, Peter Del Monte, Mario Martone and Pappi Corsicato were made.
b) the Special Fund (see Art. 28 of Law n° 1213/1965 now modified by article 8 of Law n° 153/1994). Only first or second films need apply and they have to be acknowledged as being of cultural interest to the nation because of their “significant artistic and cultural merits.”
The following filmmakers made their debuts under the terms of article 8: Bertolucci, Bellocchio, the Taviani brothers. The state makes a financial investment in a product of a cultural nature. If the film does well, the state gets its money back, otherwise it becomes the owner of the rights to the film and can exploit it commercially.
Read the full text on the Istituto Luce web site.
In both cases, there is an upper limit on financing accorded of 90 per cent of the draft budget. The upper limit for first and second films is Euros1.291,1422. Elsewhere state funding can be up to Euros4.141.655 The Guarantee Fund can contribute up to 90 per cent of the loan for new directors and up to 70 per cent for well-known directors.
According to the terms of these laws, the State guarantees that the producer will give back the grant and obliges him or her to cover the residual 10 per cent and 30 per cent personally from the box office takes of the film(s) in question. In any case the producer must have a declared capital of at least Euros 20,000.
In both cases, there is an upper limit on financing accorded of 90 per cent of the draft budget. The upper limit for first and second films is Euros1.291,1422. Elsewhere state funding can be up to Euros4.141.655 The Guarantee Fund can contribute up to 90 per cent of the loan for new directors and up to 70 per cent for well-known directors.
According to the terms of these laws, the State guarantees that the producer will give back the grant and obliges him or her to cover the residual 10 per cent and 30 per cent personally from the box office takes of the film(s) in question. In any case the producer must have a declared capital of at least Euros 20,000.
In both cases, there is an upper limit on financing accorded of 90 per cent of the draft budget. The upper limit for first and second films is Euros1.291,1422. Elsewhere state funding can be up to Euros4.141.655 The Guarantee Fund can contribute up to 90 per cent of the loan for new directors and up to 70 per cent for well-known directors.
According to the terms of these laws, the State guarantees that the producer must give back the grant and obliges him or her to cover the residual 10 per cent or 30 per cent personally from the box office takes of the film(s) in question. In any case the producer must have a declared capital of at least Euros 20,000.
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