Italy's Piedmont region, the Turin Piedmont Film Commission and LA based Endgame Entertainment have finalised terms for a$20.5m (Euros 14m) film fund.

The plans were announced by Turin Piedmont Film Commission president Steve Della Casa at the Venice Film Festival.

Annually, the fund will support productions by providing closing costs for qualifying commercially-viable English language projects that have 75% of their funding in place.

The fund will provide 25% of a film's budget, with a ceiling per production of $5.9m (Euros 4m); 20% of the budget must be spent in the
Turin Piedmont region either on location or in post-production.

The funding is set up through a private investment company comprised
of Endgame, the Piedmont region with an Italian banking partner.

Projects will be accepted for consideration this autumn with first selections announced in 2009, Della Casa said.

The fund is good news for the already high-profile region, which has been ramping up industry initiatives during the past year.

Other recent initiatives include:

  • A $440,000 (Euros 300,000) documentary fund launched in 2008 which has already seen 52 medium and feature length projects completed
  • The TorinoFilmLab, announced at Cannes this year, which provides training and development funding for first and second projects.
  • Andin December, Turin Piedmont will launch a new production hub
    called Cine-Porto, which will provide production space and assistance
    to productions that set up shop in the region.

The region has seen success this year with Cannes selections Il Divo
by Paolo Sorrentino, Sangue Pazzo by Marco Tullio Giordana and
Francesco Munzi's Il Resto Della Notte all shot in the region.

And Turin Doc Fund Di Madre in Figlia by Andrea Zambelli, produced by
Davide Ferrario, is heading to Toronto as Italy's only world premiere/ The film in the Reel-to-reel section is being sold by Adrianna Chiesa Enterprises.

Topics