Created in 2013 to stimulate the artistic and technical side of Franco-Italian co-productions (which often tend to be limited to purely financial associations as laid down in the co-production treaty between the two countries), the bilateral aid fund for development put in place by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Activities (MiBAC) and the CNC takes on a new dimension. This was announced at the 76th Venice Film Festival by Mario Turetta (General Director of film and broadcasting at MiBAC) and Olivier Henrard (Deputy CEO of the CNC).
The new initiative doubles the fund’s envelope to €1 million a year. It creates a new section called “co-production assistance” to support projects which are at a more advanced stage, with the possibility of granting higher amounts of funding (up to €200,000). It also increases funding for series development. These are all measures to develop artistic cooperation which will spawn more ambitious French-Italian co-productions with greater potential in international markets.
The new fund’s first call for projects was launched on September 12th, the deadline for applications is October 31st.
