Over the last three years there has been an exponential growth in theatrical and television productions that have chosen Tuscany as a set.
Expenditure in the region has risen from less than 3 million Euros in 2006 to over 13 million in 2008.
The regional government has decided to support this trend by setting up a Fund to help theatrical and television productions choosing to film in Tuscany.

The Cinema Fund, which will be officially presented at Cannes during the Film Festival, assimilates a series of measures used by similar initiatives which have been set up in other Italian regions, offering an original formula that combines the philosophy of support with investment.

The Toscana Film Commission is the structure that manages the implementation of the Fund together with attorney Andrea Pietrolucci.
The director of the TFC, Stefania Ippoliti, summarizes its aims which focus on: “culture, the promotion of tourism and employment”.
She explains: “The cultural aspect has priority. For this reason, when establishing the parameters we decided to create a strong bond between the various works and our cultural identity.
We believe this bond to be so important that “” in the case of second works “” we have decided to take a risk alongside the producers by entering into the production quota”.

The culture, history and, thus, the image of Tuscany, a region with a strong tourist vocation, is the strategic object of the Fund which will be bringing the substantial sum of 4 million Euros per year to the Italian audiovisual market.
There is another initiative on the horizon: “We are thinking of completing the package we offer to audiovisual productions” announces Stefania Ippoliti, “by setting up a mechanism for advancing any contributions and financial interventions which have already been agreed.
I am thinking, for example, of the MIBAC [Ministry of Culture] contributions which often arrive late with respect to the work schedules.
Cash flow is often a decisive factor that affects many productions”.

However, there are no plans to create accommodation structures to support productions (“the Tuscan identity is closely linked to the territory so we prefer to concentrate on exteriors”), whilst the utilization of local professionals, which is not required by the regulations, is included when drawing up contracts with production companies accessing the Fund.

TH FIGURES

4 million euros contributed per year

4 categories eligible for financing

6 the maximum number of works eligible for financing per category (3 for documentaries)

15 thousand euros for screenplays

50 thousand euros for documentaries

200 thousand euros for first works

450 thousand euros for second works (excluding debuts)