Interview with Chiara Valenti Omero, Director of FVG Film Commission
A 24-year long history and a fresh strategy, with a new director and a doubled budget for the film fund
A small, vibrant region where productions find a vast range of settings and the services of one of the country’s longest-established Film Commissions whose recent restructuring has given it new energy and increased the budget of the film fund, to now almost €2.4 million.
“Our Film Commission was the first to offer a film fund in 2003, something we are particularly proud of. This year marked an overhaul of the regulations and the results we are seeing are making us even prouder”, commented Chiara Valenti Omero, who became director of the Venezia Giulia Film Commission in 2022 sparking a new cycle for the organization.
The region’s geographical position makes it a natural gate to the East and, therefore, a reference point for productions arriving from the Balkans, Austria and Germany.
Rounding out the profile is the small Film Commission’s staff’s great passion for the work of commissioning; recognised by productions, this incentivizes their return to the region with new projects.
What are the key strengths of the production support offered by your Film Commission?
Experience, user-friendly bureaucracy, qualified crew members
Established in 2000, FVG Film Commission is almost 24 years old, offering that wealth of experience is our added value. Since becoming part of the regional structure of PromoTurismoFVG, we’ve been able to retain a key flexibility in our relationships with productions, focusing on keeping processes easy to navigate, while compatible with the necessary bureaucracy.
The passion that we – myself, Gianluca Novel and Guido Cassano, who have been the heart of the FC since the start – put into our work is demonstrated by an attention to detail and the ability to welcome and follow productions in all facets, this is recognised by many productions who feel very protected and are always happy to come back to us.
Although we don’t manage a development fund, we like to follow projects from their beginning, i.e., from whenever it is that the production contacts us. We help them in scouting: searching for locations in the region is our responsibility with professional location managers following productions individually.
Another strength of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region is the presence of qualified crew members. Thanks to our extensive database, today we can cover 2-3 projects at the same time. The increase in the film fund budget [+45% on 2022 Ed.] made it necessary to train new professionals and this is a key goal for the future.
A great deal of passion, attention to detail and the need to increase core staff
Following the increase in the film fund budget and, subsequently our workload, we also recognised the need to increase our staff, to do so we had to introduce the work of commissioning to the interns who come to learn with us, showing them that it is not simply paperwork in the office but also includes going to look for locations, taking care of our relationships with institutions etc..
Why should productions choose your region?
The strength of our region is something all the relatively small areas have in common, we are able to provide extremely varied locations ranging from seashore to hilltop, to mountain and art city, within an easily reachable range of 150km from each other.
Friuli Venezia Giulia at the heart of co-productions between Italy and the Balkans
FVG is also a gate to the East: we are no longer simply a region on the periphery positioned to the North East of Italy, but the centre for proposals that look towards co-productions with the Balkans, Austria, Germany. We are geographically a border area which makes it fairly natural for us to dialogue with film commissions, whether we are working on cross-border projects or directly with foreign productions.
Any anecdotes from the sets that you can tell us?
International productions are very interested in this area. Last year we welcomed 4 Netflix productions and Charlize Theron, who strolled around piazza Unità in Trieste without being disturbed. This is something special about our region, it guarantees a privacy that is not a given in other places and which is certainly greatly appreciated.
This summer we had an Amazon production in the city for two weeks (it was supposed to be three but was cut short by the Hollywood actors' strike) which left a certified €8 million in the area. We do not make a contribution to these productions, but we provide all the necessary organizational assistance, including permits and bureaucracy.
What’s the relationship between productions and the territory?
The Film Commission is very good both at building the institutional relationships that are the basis of support for productions, and at making people understand the importance of having a production - large, small or enormous - for exhibitors, restaurateurs, services and other activities that they are involved directly and indirectly.
On the Amazon front, for example, the city of Trieste responded well to a very impactful action movie of Serbian and English production with chases in the historic centre.
I would add that the region is experiencing a moment of tourist explosion with numbers higher than pre-Covid times and sets in the city or in remote places represent a further tourist attraction.
Finally, it often happens that productions leave something on the territory in terms of renovations of streets, buildings, etc. Last year, for example, the production of M – Il figlio del secolo contributed to the renovation of the Amideria Chiozza in Ruda, putting the steam engine back into operation.
Has the region seen a return in terms of cinema-tourism?
There are many examples: one of the most surprising was linked to the series La Porta Rossa (The Red Door) (location), with coaches arriving from all over Italy to see the locations [the series, produced by Vela Film for Rai Fiction, with Lino Guanciale and Gabriella Pession was shot in Trieste; three seasons were broadcast in 2017, 2019, 2023 Ed.].
The most interesting aspect is that people are curious about places that are not usually included in traditional tourist routes, like Rozzol-Melara, where one of the main characters in the series lives, which is a not particularly inviting suburb of Trieste. This interest produced a reaction in the inhabitants who now see the place with different eyes and prompted a desire to make it more attractive and beautiful.
I’d also add that two significant cinema tourism projects have been launched in the region, one by the Casa del Cinema where we have our offices, with a new app which offers itineraries with the historical background of the places and enables tourists to explore independently.
What’s coming up next?
We’ve had 5 projects in the region in the past four months, including the TV film La rosa dell'Istria by Tiziana Aristarco, co-produced by Rai Fiction, Publispei, Venice Film, inspired by the novel Chi ha paura dell’uomo nero by Graziella Fiorentin, which is set against the backdrop of the Istrian exodus. In addition, we welcomed Gianni Amelio’s new film Campo di battaglia, set in a WWI field hospital, while in Trieste Maurizio Nichetti is finishing up photography on his new film, Amiche mai!.
Filming of the Libera series with Lunetta Savino has just concluded in Trieste, while Daniele Luchetti has also completed work on Prima di noi, a TV series that follows a Friulian family from before the war. In addition, Albatross, a film directed by Giulio Base and produced by OneMore Pictures and Rai has recently set up for filming in Trieste.
Remaining in the area until Christmas is the set of Ninfa dormiente, based on the book by Ilaria Tuti and produced by Publispei with Rai, which we hope will replicate the record share of the previous instalment (Fiori sopra l'inferno).
And that's not all. The film fund's third call expired on September 30th and I can already anticipate that 2024 will be a busy year, full of productions!
(Monica Sardelli)