Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission enjoys a prominent role at the Venice Film Festival, with many films in both the Main Competition and in the several other sections, proving how hard work pays off. We talk about this with Chiara Valenti Omero, Coordinator of the FVG Film Commission.
Let’s take a step back: when was the Film Commission established, and how did it work for its success in terms of films produced and positive returns for local communities?
The FVG Film Commission was established in 2000, meaning we are looking at almost twenty-five years of operation. In 2003, we launched our Film Fund, the first Italian local government agency to establish a film fund to support local filmmaking. We started off as a partnership, although as our work grew more complex, we became a department of local agency PromoTurismoFVG, which coordinates all activities related to tourism. I have been in this since 2022 as manager of the Film Commission. We are working with a territory that is relatively small, though rich in peculiarity. A one-hour drive can take you from sea to mountain to ancient villages, urban areas, art centres. Diversity of locations is huge, and it can attract productions large and small, national and international. Add to this a network of film professionals that we helped grow and that we care for, offering educational opportunities.
Our greatest satisfaction is to see producers coming back! The Fund has grown by much since we have been made part of PromoTurismoFVG, with the regional government investing in us and believing in what we do. Our commissioner for Industry and Tourism Sergio Emidio Bini commented how “By the end of 2024, three years will have passed since the Film Commission and PromoTurismoFVG started working together. The Film Commission Fund grew twice its original size. In the first six months of 2024, the Film Commission helped over eight projects and funded a further twenty. These numbers mean the Commission works very well and is becoming essential in its role of communication and promotion of our Region.”
In 1918, at a field hospital near the front lines, Stefano and Giulio work together, bound by fate but divided by opposing views on politics and the duty of a soldier. Their relationship is further complicated by their shared love for Anna, a nurse who supports them through da...
According to Luciana de Leoni d’Asparedo, a Naples-based astrology expert, the position of the stars at a person’s birth determines their destiny. This leads her to advise her clients to visit specific places on their birthday to align with the ideal stellar conste...
Inspired by Antonio Scurati’s novel of the same name, the series tells the story of a man (M., Mussolini) who has managed to rise from his own ashes multiple times, characterized by a political intuition that faced no obstacles at the time. Through his biography, the ser...
After the death of his mother, Rein begins working as a snowboard instructor in an alpine village. His routine is disrupted by the visit of his father, the charming Gijs, who flirts with his girlfriend Laura… Exasperated, Rein drags his father on a dangerous hike until an un...
Gianni Amelio’s Battlefield is in the main competition, M – Il figlio del secolo Out of Competition, Wishing on a Star in the Orizzonti section, and Alpha at the Venice Days programme. You are active on all fronts.
Yes, we are very proud of the work we did. Our territory is certainly photogenic: nature, landscapes… such beautiful images, like those of Villa Manin in Battlefield. There’s so much more, too: the beautiful village of Venzone, the city of Gorizia with the interior scenes filmed for Battlefield and a street that served as set for M – Il figlio del secolo. Wishing on a Star is a well-made documentary that passed in the Orizzonti Section. Lastly, Alpha, in the Venice Days programme, is a film we supported in logistics only. It has been filmed in the area of Lake Fusine and others in the region. I also have fond memories of Gloria, by Margherita Vicario, filmed in our Region in 2022 and 2023. It passed in the Main Competition at Berlin, and working on it meant a lot to us.
Current and future projects.
We are working on Paolo Strippoli’s upcoming film, La valle dei sorrisi, starring Michele Riondino. Fandango and NIghtsdream co-produce. Photography is taking place in Pontebba, close to the border with Austria, and will then move south to Udine. We’ll soon start working with Laura Samami’s second feature, Un anno di scuola, which Nefertiti Film will produce. Samami is also local, from Trieste, and I like that this shows we are committed to make our territory grow at all levels in the film industry. There’s much more, of course, but I cannot speak of that yet. I can only say that there will be plenty!
