Production is perking up in Campania, where gap financing and free services combined with spectacular sea vistas and gritty Neapolitan urban settings make for an increasingly enticing proposition.
At least a dozen feature films and high-profile telepics have been lured by the region over the past two years,
including Sony's "Angels and Demons."
The Campania commish has a $2million fund at this time to provide incentives for up to 20 projects yearly, some of which it boards as co-producer. This fund is expected to grow as the region taps into European Union industrial stimulus subsidies.
A small but significant plus is that prices for accommodations and food on mainland Campania tend to be cheaper than in most Italo regions to the North.
On top of the coin, the commish provides free permits and logistical assistance. This can mean no-hassles access to the isle of Capri, as in pubcaster RAI's glossy "Capri" skein, or entry into the Neapolitan mob's squalid stomping grounds, where "Gomorrah" was shot last year.
More recently the commish cleared the way for trailers and production trucks to station in ancient Roman walkways in central Naples for just-wrapped hot Italo drama "Lo spazio bianco" (The White Space).
The region has always been artistically fertile and picturesque, though in the past perhaps less industry-friendly.
These days, however, "Shooting a film here is becoming a sound and competitive proposition, both in terms of resources and logistics," boasts Campania commish director Maurizio Gemma.
Contact Nick Vivarelli at
nvivarelli@gmail.com