* Apulia Film Commission.
Set up by the Regional Government of Apulia in 2007, it is a Participatory Foundation whose partners are the provincial administrations and municipalities of the main cities in the Region.
With an annual budget of 2 million Euros, it is the operational instrument implementing the Region’s audiovisual policy.
The highly professional staff of the AFC consists of 5 people plus the director and has an average age of 31 years.
Today the Film Commission uses numerous external collaborators to manage its many projects who are selected through a strict system of public announcements.
* Apulia Film Fund.
The AFC has a Film Fund to attract audiovisual productions to the territory and support the same. The contributions are mainly distributed (in three installments over a year) according to criteria linked to the percentage of expenditure in the territory (150% of the contribution), the quota of outdoor scenes filmed in the territory (minimum two weeks) and the use of local personnel (minimum 30% from Apulia).
Financing is given to features, films and TV series (up to a maximum of 150,000 Euros); documentaries and docu-dramas (up to a maximum of 40,000 Euros); shorts and video-clips receive up to 30,000 Euros and video games up to 12,000 Euros. In 2007 the Film Fund paid out 258,000 Euros for 11 productions, consisting of 6 theatrical movies (3 foreign) and 2 TV movies, versus expenditure in the territory of 3,800,000 Euros; in 2008 the contributions distributed totaled 463,000 Euros for 14 productions (8 theatrical movies) versus expenditure in the territory of 4,800,000 Euros.
In the same year, funding was doubled thanks to extra-fund contributions provided to 6 movies in the form of hospitality or co-production. In 2009 the Fund was increased to 1,085,000 Euros for 38 productions (including 16 theatrical movies and 4 TV films and series), which brought over 10 million Euros to the region.
Extraordinary funding was also provided in 2009 (around 230,000 Euros, mainly from the European ERDF) in the form of hospitality for 8 productions, including 4 theatrical movies.
For 2010 the Apulia Film Fund will have 1,600,000 Euros at its disposal.
* Bif&st- Bari International Film&TV Festival.
Following the success of the “zero” edition in 2009, this event, created and directed by Felice Laudadio, will be holding its first international edition from January 23rd “” 30th in Bari, the capital of the Apulia region.
The Festival, which cost around one million Euros, is financed with money from the ERDF.
The Bif&st is the jewel in the crown of a regional Festival network that includes the independent cinema Festival in Foggia (held in December), the Festa del Cinema del Reale held in July in Specchia (Lecce), and the Festival del Cinema Europeo in Lecce which has dedicated the next edition to Carlo Verdone.
It should be mentioned that the popular actor and director has chosen the Lecce Festival for the creation of an award dedicated to his father, the scholar and theatrical critic, Mario Verdone.
* Cineport.
Or rather cineports, because two will be opening in Apulia in 2010.
One in Bari, occupying 1200 sq. meters inside the Fiera del Levante and costing 600,000 Euros; the other in Lecce: 450 sq. meters located inside the former Manifatture Knos.
Both cineports are fully equipped to host productions filming in the territory
* Circuit of Quality Movie Theaters.
Starting from February 5th, a series of quality films will be screened on a circuit of 20 movie theaters distributed in cities throughout the Apulia region.
The Apulia Film Commission will be managing the scheduling for the next two years and making a total contribution to theater managers of 2,190,000 Euros