At the Your Dream, Our Mission forum, Fabio Abagnato explains how the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission supports film productions, promotes emerging works, and fosters training and inclusion on set.
Yesterday, the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission took center stage at the Italy Pavilion, in Sala Tropicana at the Hotel Excelsior, during the forum Your Dream, Our Mission. Emilia-Romagna Ecosystem. Numbers, Places, Knowledge, Actions. What key points emerged?
We did not make any flashy announcements about newly opened calls. Our call, as those who know us well are aware, is a constant: same dates in February and July, with continuous attention. This is our strength. Today, however, we presented data primarily regarding the impact of our work as a Film Commission on the territory, tracking trends both in the projects submitted and those supported, highlighting our ability to align the call regulations to better incentivize and accommodate projects. This is our virtuous aspect, our operational peculiarity. We operate with a short chain structure: the office that supports productions is also the office that proposes the call’s approval to the regional council. As a result, we achieve operational speed and dynamism, allowing us year after year to adjust not only to evolving regulations but also to monitor and optimize the sector’s economic efficiency, the efficiency and effectiveness of the production process, understanding when to open up to national co-productions, when to incentivize the use of local crews, when to create synergies with our Music Commission to involve composers, and when to support local companies in undertaking greater co-production efforts with their international counterparts. Over the years, this system has allowed us to simplify processes where possible and open new avenues for development, always with the goal of enhancing the quality of the works we support, maintaining a plural identity in the types of projects we fund, with particular attention to first and second features, which often correspond to a renewed female authorship perspective, according to our observations. This summarizes what was presented and discussed yesterday. We are now imagining introducing new ideas into our work. In this regard, the Regional Councillor for Culture, Gessica Allegni, present at the discussion, announced that one of the next objectives will be to actively focus on child care on set. The council will mandate us to study incentives to create a set that is not unwelcoming to mothers and fathers working in the industry – a form of support for parenthood, in other words – offering a positive action toward gender opportunity balance.
Regions, despite their strong focus on promoting their own territories, are now distinguishing themselves primarily through funding. Not just territories, but financing almost in a ‘cash machine’ mode. What is your policy in this regard?
This is a metaphor we commissioners also use when meeting producers to emphasize that, first and foremost, we are partners – not, as the metaphor suggests, ATMs. Our function is quite complex and multifaceted: we accompany territories in becoming functionally prepared for production needs, support projects on the ground, and provide soft consultation on implementation challenges. We step in to cover budgets, intervene in development when stories are not yet written, and mediate with local territories so authors can write their stories better. In short, we are a comprehensive interlocutor. Of course, it cannot be denied that without regional funding, many of the works present in Venice today could not have been realized due to lack of financial coverage. At the same time, without the bridging role we play, they would also lack the cultural, logistical, and know-how support from territories, which often makes the difference. Last year, for instance, Vermiglio was the festival’s surprise. Vermiglio is the paradigmatic product of the relationship between a territory telling its story and collaboration with Film Commissions, in this case IDM Alto Adige and Trentino.
The film, based on the book Io volevo ucciderla by Adolfo Ceretti – one of Italy’s leading criminologists – written in collaboration with Lorenzo Natali, is co-scripted by the director with Bruno Oliviero and Valia Santella. Set between South Tyrol and Canton Ti...
Carolina Cavalli’s second feature is a dramedy telling the story of Holly (Benedetta Porcaroli), a 28-year-old misfit convinced that her life has taken the wrong turn. When she meets Arabella, a seven-year-old girl who has run away from home, Holly comes to believe she has f...
Set in the 1970s, the film is inspired by the true story of Antonio Zagari. A young Calabrian living in Lombardy, Antonio is the son of a ’ndrangheta boss. Forced to follow in his father’s footsteps, he repeatedly stains his conscience by killing on others’ orders. But t...
Why choose Emilia-Romagna as a base for production?
I want to immediately dispel any misunderstandings: unlike in the past, Film Commissions today are not in competition with one another– in fact, just look at the collaborations and shared projects presented at this year’s Venice Film Festival. That said, I believe one of our strongest cards is our plural sensitivity in supporting all cinematic products, rejecting the idea of prioritizing certain genres over others. Abroad, this approach is not always fully understood; at markets, we are often asked: “What are your artistic lines?” We do not have the right to an artistic direction for fund usage, but we have the duty to support entrepreneurial and authorial pluralism. I believe this is the true strength of Emilia-Romagna’s fund. If you look at the works we have supported over the years, you will not find a single artistic line or format, from documentaries to series, feature films, and short films, which receive a dedicated call. What is certain is that difficult challenges can be addressed here. Probably, without our support, Yuri Ancarani would not have made Atlantide, and we would not have a high percentage of first and second features in our database: Michele Vannucci, Carolina Cavalli, Valentina Bertani, Marescotti Ruspoli, and many others. In every film, there are many aspects that involve us – not just the important task of localizing a production in our territory. We accompany the author’s narrative from conception to theatrical distribution, offering an opportunity that complements the national system.
A major systematization effort involving all sectors, then. What are your specific actions in training?
Our Cinema Law was enacted in 2014 with the signature of four councillors. Culture was the primary role player, and today it plays a central role in supporting the works we back. The joint signature of Tourism, Training, Productive Activities, and Culture has resulted in an annual call for the training of cinema professionals. On average, €2.5 million are allocated to about 15 training projects per year. We have also invited consideration of festivals as training incubators. We no longer define this as a cinema supply chain, but as an ecosystem capable of involving all players in the audiovisual cultural industry, with overlapping and constantly interacting functions.
As for Venice– how does your presence at the festival stand out this year?
With the presence of major films in various sections, sharing production with other Film Commissions. In Orizzonti, we are present with Carolina Cavalli’s Il rapimento di Arabella, shot in both Veneto and Emilia-Romagna; likewise, Zvanì by Giovanni Piccioni in the Giornate degli Autori, made in collaboration with Toscana Film Commission. With Calabria, we are present with Ammazzare stanca. Autobiografia di un assassino by Daniele Vicari in Venezia Spotlight. Finally, Elisa by Leonardo Di Costanzo, in competition, was shot with production support from IDM Alto Adige and Canton Ticino, Switzerland, while we supported its development and writing, since Tempesta, the producing company, is based in Emilia-Romagna. Over the years, productions have increasingly valued not only small local companies, essential to shooting, but also well-established regional entities recognized in the film sector, such as Tempesta, Bach Movie, Cavak, Palomar, Montpacem, to name a few. These companies are deeply rooted locally, making us natural interlocutors. Anyone working in this field must understand that we play a crucial role: renewing European audiovisual language, not regional language. There is no regional language; there are authentic stories rooted in territories, which can resonate with a European scope. A territory is strong in Europe if authentic, not if instrumentally shaped for storytelling.
