Italy–Latin America Fund Announced at Cannes

Director General for Cinema and Audiovisual at the Italian Ministry of Culture, Nicola Borrelli and Italian Screens Project Head Roberto Stabile presented a new fund aimed at fostering collaboration between Italian and Latin American producers at the Italian Pavilion, organised by Cinecittà as part of the Cannes Film Festival.

“This is something producers have strongly asked for,” said Borrelli. “We are confident that this new tool can help increase collaboration between our industry and such a significant part of the world. The fund is being launched with an initial allocation of one million euros, which is a substantial amount, at least for the start. We hope that it will need to be increased soon, as that would mean the objectives have been achieved.”

The fund is intended to replace Italy’s participation in the Ibermedia programme: “Italy’s presence in Ibermedia was not a positive experience,” admitted Stabile. “The creation of this fund is not meant as a criticism, but as a sign of our genuine interest in collaborating with Latin countries. We are really interested in supporting films that succeed internationally,” he concluded.

All the details regarding the fund’s regulations are still under discussion at the Ministry. The fund is expected to be active within the year. Nevertheless the aim is to enable the first meetings between producers at the upcoming Venice International Film Festival. (C.DA)