Italy for Movies recently paid a visit to Sardinia. The opportunity to do so came with a conference on film tourism, Cinema e territorio, il cinema come industria sostenibile (lit. ‘Cinema and territory, cinema as a sustainable industry’).
It was held on 9 July as part of the Sardinia Film Festival, in the magnificent setting of Stintino in the province of Sassari. The travelling festival, now in its 13th year, is an international film festival that was created with the aim of promoting independent film, and is deeply rooted in the region, this year taking place in the locations of Villanova Monteleone, Bosa, Alghero, Stintino and Sassari.
As well as its various competition categories, ranging from fiction to animation and even video art, the event features some useful conversations and exchanges between industry professionals and others. In this context the conference on film tourism was the first opportunity to strategically rethink and consolidate the possibilities for a region like Sardinia, whose cinematographic potential could drive significant development in terms of tourism, the economy and employment.
Italy for Movies was presented to the mayors of the municipalities concerned, political administrators, film commission representatives and national and international industry experts as a tool for promoting film tourism internationally, a way of showcasing the cultural and landscape heritage of our varied and extraordinary country, to build on what has been done and increase opportunities through stronger cooperation at national level.