Interview with Alessandra Miletto, Director, Film Commission Vallée d’Aoste

Rolling applications, speed, efficiency and continual assistance for the productions who choose the smallest region of Italy

“Between 2021 and 2022 we supported 40 productions, 12 of which with grants from the Film Fund, 3 from the hospitality fund and 24 with logistics assistance, for a total of approx. €3.86 million spend in the region in 2021/2022, against the €919k disbursed (€899k from the Film Fund, €20k from the hospitality fund)” - this is the incredible visiting card that the Director of Film Commission Vallée d’Aoste Alessandra Miletto uses to present her little region with the big results.

Often selected for high altitude shoots, Valle d’Aosta is extremely “cinema friendly” attracting high impact productions like The Eight Mountains, Jury prize winner at Cannes 2022, the Rocco Schiavone series starring Marco Giallini, and international blockbusters like The Avengers – Age of Ultron, which transformed atmospheric Fort Bard into the secret base of HYDRA (location), and the thrilling Point Break (location).

What are the strengths of the production support offered by your Film Commission?

A small region where everything is close at hand, quick responses and user-friendly bureaucracy

The key words are speed, efficiency and continual assistance. Speed given our Film Fund has a rolling application system: submissions are accepted in the first 10 days of the month and the outcome is published just a few weeks later. The same speed is also in the procedures and granting of permits and authorizations; Valle d’Aosta is a small region (the smallest in Italy) and very “cinema friendly” where everything is “nearby” and we’ve been able to speed up numerous bureaucratic processes thanks to the protocols and partnership networks we’ve set up with the municipalities and institutions in the territory.

Every production that chooses to shoot in Valle d’Aosta, furthermore, can count on continual assistance from the very start of preparation, from location scouting for which we have a hospitality fund that includes the presence of our location manager. Last but not least, locations belonging to the Soprintendenza per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (castles and monuments) in Valle d’Aosta may be used free of charge.

Why should productions choose your region?

In addition to the obvious answer about the beauty of this area, with its breath-taking alpine panoramas and villages that retain their authentic appearance as demonstrated in The Eight Mountains (all the locations), there are a thousand more little corners of history – Aosta is the second city in Italy, after Rome, for the number of Roman-era monuments – and a truly stunning variety of locations. I think the productions which have worked here have also been impressed by the care and attention we dedicate to them and by the efficiency and efficacy of our work. Many, in fact, have returned to shoot new projects here.

We can imagine that it must be very complicated to shoot at high altitude...

Less complicated that you might think: we often organize high altitude shoots, including weeks of shooting directly on the glaciers. The crew of the international coproduction Broad Peak stayed for over a month at the Rifugio Torino to shoot at almost 4,000m on Mont Blanc. The Eight Mountains shoot went from 3,000 m at Rifugio Mezzalama and Ghiacciaio di Verra, to 2,000 m at Laghi di Frudière and the baita in Merendioux. This was manageable thanks to the conformation of our mountains, our continual collaboration with the companies managing the climbing systems, the essential presence of the Alpine Guides who have now formed a group with specific skills to work on sets and of professionals who can guarantee the safety of a set and crew and also take part in filming as doubles or stuntmen and assist the production in every logistical aspect of shooting in the mountains.

Not least, to simplify things, there is an efficient transport system of off-road vehicles and, for the most complex needs, the guaranteed use of helicopters.

On the subject of locations, what are the most surprising and unlikely places that you have suggested?

The mountains are just an arm’s reach away with the Skyway on Mont Blanc; the school of Graines was restored during filming and will become a museum

One of the most surprising locations is certainly the Skyway, the cable car that rises 3,466m to Punta Helbronner, from where it seems possible to touch the surrounding peaks, especially Mont Blanc, with a finger. It is a futuristic structure selected for use: in Kingsman The Golden Circle for one of the most spectacular scenes; as the setting for an entire episode of Season 5 of Rocco Schiavone (all the locations); and which saw the crew of the Polish film Broad Peak staying at 3,375m in Rifugio Torino for over a month to shoot on the Gigante glacier which was “standing in” for the Himalayas. We literally have the high mountains at hand.

Another interesting location was Pietro’s holiday home in The Eight Mountains: it was actually the former school of Graines, transformed into a small museum of local history by the village consortium. Thanks to the contribution of the production, which also partially restored the building, the school will undergo improvement interventions and an extension of the museum which, thus enlarged, can be used by visitors.

Let’s talk about the future. What are your upcoming projects?

Training, professionalization and internationalization

There are quite a few important productions in preparation but we can’t talk about them for the moment…

The Film Commission continues to unfold its programme for the professionalization and internationalization of local writers and producers which is concretised annually via a range of initiatives; we have an industry and training event scheduled for the autumn, while the short films who won the “Séquences et Conséquences” competition, securing a cash contribution to make the film and mentoring assistance for development and production of the project, are shooting at the moment.

Training is a key asset for us, so we continue to work with the regional festivals and with AIACE VdA with whom we organize workshops and courses; this year, we focused on the set professions with a workshop for sound recordists and are considering an initiative for location managers in the autumn. We haven’t abandoned the creative phase either, with training activities for writers and directors, and working with schools alongside AIACE on a project about critiquing film.