During the 74th Venice International Film Festival, Italy for Movies was presented to the press: it’s the national portal of locations and production incentives carried out by Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, in partnership with the Italian Film Commissions Association and under the supervision of the Directorate Generals for Film and Tourism of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT). As Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini said, the primary objective of the new portal is to provide Italian and foreign producers interested in shooting in our country with a “wide geolocated database of places with every information on these and any related incentives”.
The project was launched as per a memorandum of understanding signed by the Directorate Generals for Film and Tourism of the MiBACT in December 2016 and it aims to increase the appeal and visibility of our territories to tourists through film and audio-visual production, and to secure an increasing flow of foreign investments. “Thanks to the enhanced tax incentives for the film industry – Franceschini said – we have been witnessing a return to the large international productions in our territory for three years. This is evidence for a season of greater attention from institutions to a crucial sector of the national creative industry, which was achieved with the adoption of the new film and audio-visual law”.
For his part, Director General for Film Nicola Borrelli stated that “our aim is to put as much of our unique and diverse heritage as we can on the web: streets, squares, buildings, churches, monuments and landscape beauties”, highlighting that the reform gives the MiBACT the task of promoting the image of Italy, including for the purposes of tourism, through film and audio-visual products. Borrelli added, “At last, it will be possible to consult a list of location through a search engine in one steadily updating portal; to know all the facilities provided and the funding opportunities at regional, national and international level; to know which films, series or documentaries will be shot in the different territories, with the most detailed information of the places chosen for shooting and to see scene photos and backstage videos; to always keep up to date with film news and new incentives”.
Instead, Director General for Tourism Francesco Palumbo mentioned the promptness of action and he pointed out how “this project has already become a reality and it capitalises on the strong synergies between tourism and the audio-visual sector a few months away from the memorandum of understanding”.
