At a time when Italian movies are having trouble selling abroad, internationalization can also help the line and executive producers who, in this complementary role, can become intermediaries and partners on international projects.
“I think there will be a lot of benefits for the system in Italy”, comments Cerasuolo, and continues: “We could not have imagined these things a few years ago, before the arrival of the Tax Credit: an incentive that not only attracts foreign production companies but also gives private investors another reason to invest in movies. An international product is more attractive than an Italian film. We must continue to spread the word aboutthe possibilities offered by the new Tax Credit law – foreign producers can save 25% of the amount they spend with us Italians – and we need to become more competitive in order to bring back productions that have ended up elsewhere in Europe, even if they are set in Italy. At last we have the right tools – from Tax Credits to the regional Funds of the Italian Film Commissions, which are becoming increasingly active on an operational as well as a financial front – and the whole Italian audiovisual system has
the duty to let foreign investors know about these opportunities”.
Cerasuolo’s dynamism is mainly focused on the Film Commissions: a draft agreement will be signed with the national association (IFC) “in order to coordinate with each other to improve the communication activities of the Italian system and to carry out training initiatives in the territory”. The shared premise is that “ the money obtained from regional
Fund contributions should be spent through Italian companies”.
The members of the APE are: Cineroma, Tea Time, Mestiere Cinema, Panorama Films, Filmaster Productions and Eos Productions. (see the interviews)