ANICA – the Italian National Association of Digital Audiovisual Film Industries, APA – the Italian Association of Audiovisual Producers and CNA – Italian Cinema and Audiovisual came together at a press conference yesterday to denounce the potential consequences of cuts to the Film Fund and the revision of tax credit planned in the draft Budget Law. Alessandro Usai (ANICA), Chiara Sbarigia (APA) and Gianluca Curti (CNA) spoke to us about a looming unprecedented crisis in film production and employment, and a concrete risk of eradicating tens of thousands of jobs.

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The 2026 Budget is currently undergoing the usual parliamentary approval process, which should reach its conclusion by December, paving the way for the law’s implementation on 1 January 2026. Article 110, dedicated to film and audiovisual production, directly relates to Law N⁰ 220, dating back to 2016. More specifically, the suggested modifications provide for: a reduction in the amount allocated to the Film and Audiovisual Fund, which will drop from 700 million euros per year to 550 million for 2026 and then 500 million from 2027 onwards; the introduction of a quarterly monitoring system on expenses incurred on all kinds of support which are provided for by the aforementioned law and; the removal of minimum and maximum spending constraints on money aimed at selective funding, film and audiovisual promotion activities and plans to upgrade the cinema and multifunctional room circuit, and on digitising film and audiovisual heritage.

According to ANICA president and producer Alessandro Usai, "there’s no real awareness, within the higher echelons, of what’s about to happen. The 150-million-euro cut to the Film Fund and the modification of tax credit could be devastating for a sector which has been one of the few Italian industries to show growth in recent years. Since 2016, tax credit has shored up national film production, attracted foreign investment and generated jobs and economic benefits for related industries”.

CNA president Gianluca Curti believes that “without a serious discussion with the government about the timeline for the cuts, the sector risks losing 70,000-75,000 jobs overnight. It would be a momentous tragedy”. Curti reminded attendees that the sector provides over 2,400 jobs, in a chain whose roles range from drivers to voice actors, and from tailors to cinema operators. "We appreciate the challenges posed by the current financial situation, but there needs to be a gradual transition: some of the cuts should take place in 2026 and others in 2027, with the full range coming into effect in 2028 to avoid interrupting a 24-36-month industrial cycle”.

APA president Chiara Sbarigia stressed that "tax credit has been the only real support available for the audiovisual sector since 2017. Without that financial aid, film productions’ economic equilibrium would be obliterated. There’s a concrete risk of delocalisation”. In the domain of TV series alone, she insisted, tax credit accounts for roughly 250 million out of a total 783 million euros of investments. "It’s thanks to this initiative that businesses have been able to retain the rights for their works and build up their libraries, becoming more competitive on international markets”. The whole sector, Sbarigia reminded attendees, is worth 16.3 billion euros and is growing by 9.3% per year, versus the national average of 2.9%.