Apulia Film Commission Foundation. The Apulia Region supporting audio-visual production.

Company profile

Following the regional law 6/2004, the Apulia Film Commission Foundation (AFC) was established in July 2007 with the task of attracting investment in the audio-visual sector offering free facilities to production companies, writers and artists, providing grants (Film Fund), co- ordinating production activity (production, marketing, film business practice, preservation of audiovisual heritage and more).

As a result, the AFC is not only a tool to support audiovisual production but can be seen both as a structure capable of promoting tourism linked to so-called cinetourism, as well as a Destination Management Organization (DMO).

The Foundation currently has 21 partners, guaranteeing an annual endowment of approximately 2 million Euros.

The Apulia Film Commission supports production by providing solutions to all logistical difficulties, offering the services of a location manager, reducing or covering expenditure on hospitality and use of public areas, liaising with local institutions, carrying out casting and supplying production offices at a competitive cost.

Its dual objectives, therefore, are to boost the identity of local cinema and audiovisual culture and create an audiovisual industry by developing each aspect of production with the specific aim of increasing impact on the local economy.

As a result, cinema became a new form of local development: from factories to the soft economy.

Today, the AFC is a member of the European Network for regional audiovisual funding (Cine-Regio), the International Association of Film Commissions (AFCI), the Italian Film Commission Group (IFC), the EUFCN and the Mediterranean Audiovisual Conference (COPEAM). It also participates regularly at ministerial planning round-tables for policies in the sector.

Since the establishment of the AFC in 2007, a large number of film projects have received funding or assistance including: 1. “Non ti voltare” – directed by Marina De Van, with Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau. 2. “Il passato è una terra straniera” – directed by Daniele Vicari, with , Chiara Caselli.

Fondazione Apulia Film Commission 1 Cineporto, Fiera del Levante, Lungomare Starita, 1 70132 Bari - Italy Phone +39 080 9752900 - Fax +39 080 9147464 - P. I. 06631230726

3. “Focaccia Blues” – directed by Nico Cirasola, with Lino Banfi, , Renzo Arbore, etc. 4. “Galantuomini” – directed by Edoardo Winspeare, with Fabrizio Gifuni, Donatella Finocchiaro. 5. “Fine pena mai” – directed by Davide Barletti and Lorenzo Conte, with , Valentina Cervi. 6. “Pane e libertà” – The Life of Giuseppe Di Vittorio – directed by Alberto Negrin, with . 7. “Piede di Dio” – directed by Luigi Sardiello, with Emilio Solfrizzi, Filippo Puccillo, etc. 8. “Bacha Ae Aseeno”, Bollywood; 9. “Maska”, Suresh Productions, South India; 10. “Mayday 5&7” for National Geographic / Discovery Channel; 11. “3 op Reis”, a programme on Apulia for Dutch Television’s third channel; 12. “Maria ihm schmeckt’s nicht” (Maria non gli piace!), distributed by 20th Century Fox and co-produced by Schmitze Katze and Orisa Produzioni, based on the German best-seller written by Jan Weiler; 13. “Paolo VI”, a TV series in 2 episodes shown on Rai 1, produced by Lux Vide; 14. “La doppia vita di Natalia Blum”, one episode filmed in Bari for the TV series “Crimini 2” shown on Rai 2, directed by Anna Negri, with Emilio Solfrizzi and Anita Caprioli; 15. “Petruzzelli – Rinascita di un Teatro” directed by Maurizio Sciarra; 16. “Nebbie e delitti 3”, episode set in Otranto, produced by Casanova Entertainment, directed by Gianluca Tescari with Luca Barbareschi and Anna Valle; 17. “Honeymoon”, feature film filmed in Brindisi, directed by Goran Paskaljevic, co- produced by SKA-NDAL production and NOVA FILM; 18. “Il grande sogno” directed by Michele Placido; 19. “Mare Piccolo” feature film directed by Alessandro di Robilant; 20. “Mannaggia alla miseria” feature film directed by Lina Wertmuller; 21. “L’uomo nero“ directed by Sergio Rubini, produced by Rai Cinema and Bianca Film 22. “Cado dalle nubi” directed by Gennaro Nunziante, produced by Tao Due and Medusa; 23. “Noi credevamo” directed by Mario Martone, produced by Palomar and Studio Urania; 24. “Mine vaganti” directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, produced by Fandango and Rai Cinema; 25. “Una musica silenziosa”, TV series for Rai 1 produced by Casanova.

In 2010, the FILM FUND, regional funding for audiovisual productions, can offer an endowment of €1,000,000 in three instalments available to productions which agree to film for at least two weeks in Apulia, to hire 30% of cast and crew locally and to spend at least 150% of the grant awarded in the area.

Fondazione Apulia Film Commission 2 Cineporto, Fiera del Levante, Lungomare Starita, 1 70132 Bari - Italy Phone +39 080 9752900 - Fax +39 080 9147464 - P. I. 06631230726

An additional €600,000 is available to cover hospitality costs for productions, covering living expenses incurred in Apulia (hotels, restaurants, transport and so on).

The Apulia Film Commission provides a complete spectrum of audiovisual services consisting of:

1. The Bari CINEPORTO at the Fiera del Levante trade fair, Pavilion 180. 1,200 m² of space dedicated entirely to cinema, visual arts and cinema and artistic production. A superb facility which hosts the film commission offices, production offices, casting rooms, costume, make-up and hairdressing rooms, props and scenery store rooms, a 95-seat multi-media room with state-of-the-art technology and full HD digital projection, areas for exhibitions and installation art and reception areas, areas for professional training and meeting rooms.

2. The Lecce CINEPORTO at the Knos Factory, property of the Province of Lecce. Located in a 4,000 m² pavilion, one of Europe’s most extraordinary cultural facilities, this vast area will be available for cinema production and audiovisual companies offering casting rooms, costume, make-up and hairdressing rooms, props and scenery store rooms and areas for exhibitions and installation art.

3. Apulia Audiovisual Workshop – an international workshop touring the 6 provinces of Apulia in which 5 masters of European cinema, as well as story editors and a general organiser meet 20 participants (50% non-Italians) who can take part for free. The aim is to make international contacts, present the region to future talents and to promote Apulia in Europe. April and May 2010.

4. Progetto Memoria – a project to discover the Apulian identity. Places and people who have contributed to local history (e.g. Castel del Monte, the Salento Tobacco Works, the city of Taranto, , etc.) as stories to be told by young Apulian writers and talents, filming shorts or documentaries which depict our collective identity. The films are entered at film festivals and form the background to a shared historical Apulian identity.

The AFC has been entrusted with the task of co-ordinating activities within the regional audiovisual system which has its base at the Regional Multimedia Library in Via Zanardelli, Bari: 350 m² of space with a small projection room and a collection of all the audiovisual artefacts which were previously housed at the old regional multimedia library in Corso Venezia, Bari.

Fondazione Apulia Film Commission 3 Cineporto, Fiera del Levante, Lungomare Starita, 1 70132 Bari - Italy Phone +39 080 9752900 - Fax +39 080 9147464 - P. I. 06631230726

Furthermore, the Apulia Film Commission, supported by EU funding, has (or is due to):

- set up and managed the first regional chain of quality art film cinemas. The programme for twenty screens throughout the region is organised directly by the Apulia Film Commission and is made up of at least 51% Italian and European quality films with an annual contribution for each cinema;

- organised and oversaw the publication – in conjunction with the Regional Tourist and Hotel Industry Board – of Effetto Puglia, the first cine-tourism guide (published by Laterza). A history of films shot in Apulia (including ten itineraries for cine-tourists), it is written by leading Apulian film journalists with special contributions from figures from Italian cinema;

- organised and promoted, under the artistic direction of Felice Laudadio, the first Bari International Film & TV Festival which enjoyed enormous success among both public and critics. Planning is also under way for the Festival of Documentary Cinema in the Salento area and a Festival of New Visions scheduled for 2011.

- contributed to the promotion of various Apulian directors’ projects at film festivals and fairs such as Venice (Pippo Mezzapesa, Pinuccio Lovero : Storia di una morte di mezza estate), (Galantuomini and Il Passato è una terra straniera), Turin (Paolo de Falco, Leonardo, Radio Egnatia directed by Fluid Video Crew), Los Angeles (Focaccia blues directed by Nico Cirasola, Galantuomini directed by Edoardo Winspeare) and many others;

- organised the Co-Production Forum in Lecce in collaboration with the European Cinema Festival, for European and Mediterranean producers;

- awarded grants to young and deserving Apulian residents (also those from low-income families) to attend Master’s courses in Audiovisual Production at the Luiss Business School (Rome) and the Master’s course for General Set Organization at Turin Polytechnic.

Information can be found on our website www.apuliafilmcommission.it, including an extensive database on Apulian artists and audiovisual technicians:

- an extraordinary average of approximately 8,000 daily subscribers to our newsletter;

- an average of 800 daily new internet hits;

- approximately 30,000 visitors a month.

Fondazione Apulia Film Commission 4 Cineporto, Fiera del Levante, Lungomare Starita, 1 70132 Bari - Italy Phone +39 080 9752900 - Fax +39 080 9147464 - P. I. 06631230726