Italy’s Undersecretary For Culture Unrealistically Assures Production Tax Rebates Favoring Local Talent Will Be Effective This Month
Italian undersecretary for culture Lucia Borgonzoni is trying to do damage control as the country’s film industry feels the pain of a forced slowdown due to the country’s right-wing government dithering with modifications to crucial tax incentives for film and TV production.
Italy’s 40% tax credit has been the crucial factor in luring back Hollywood productions to Italy on a scale comparable to the 1950s and ’60s glory days. In the past two years the country has hosted “The White Lotus” Season 2, Steven Zaillian’s “Ripley,” and Amazon Prime’s upcoming gladiator series “Those About to Die,” which was fully shot at Cinecittà. But more recently, Americans have almost stopped coming, as they wait to see what happens under the new regime.
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Speaking at the AVPSummit, an international TV industry event held this week in Italy’s Southern Calabria region, Borgonzoni – a longtime local industry advocate who is in charge of Italy’s cinema department –said the long-awaited tax credit faucet, known locally as the “window,” will be launched this month. It’s a prospect which local industry experts consider unrealistic since there is still some legislative red tape that remains to be cleared. A more realistic, and still optimistic, target is September, they say.
What’s sure is that Italy’s new production incentives are being pushed through. But it also seems that the money will be reduced from 40% to 30% for international productions that don’t use local talents, as Borgonzoni jingoistically tells Variety in a one-on-one interview at the AVPSummit.
Hollywood producers are waiting for new rules and the new “window.” What can you tell them?
International producers need certainties because they have much longer planning times than most Italian production companies. We opened a “window” in January after which I went to Los Angeles and I believe that U.S. productions have been coming.
Yes, but that window was mostly for the 2023 backlog. The combination of not knowing the new rules and not being able to apply for the incentives has caused a big slowdown, not just domestically but on the international side too. So when will the 2024 tax credit window be opened?
It will be opened before the start of summer, later this month.
Isn’t that technically impossible, since the new rules haven’t been fully finalized?
When I was in Los Angeles, U.S. producers told me they needed to decided where they would shoot in Europe by this summer. Obviously they need a new window because we’re talking about new productions. And I’m proud to say they will be able to chose to shoot in Italy. Everything is ready to go.
Will the tax rebate for international productions stay at 40%? I’ve heard there will be new constraints regarding the use of Italian talents.
There are no constraints, there are rewards. For international productions, if an Italian actor, director, or screenwriter are used, we will give a 40% tax credit. So it’s actually a reward, because we are providing a 30% rebate for international productions that come to shoot in Italy. But we tell them: if there is Italian talent involved, instead of giving you 30%, we give you 40%.
OK, but this was not the case before.
No [it was not].
Will there be a change in terms of overall resources?
The fund for development of investments in film and audiovisual for 2024 amounts to roughly 700 million Euros ($754 million) [which is on a par with the past].
Are there going to be less resources for international productions?
No, absolutely not
Will there be a more stringent cap on international productions?
No
I’ve heard there is a new fund earmarked for products that highlight Italian characters and narratives. Is that the case?
Yes, for Italian stories. I am proud of the fact that for the first time there is €52 million ($56 million) fund dedicated to that. It’s not just for movies, but also TV, documentaries and animation. It’s for Italian stories, because we need to discover more Italian stories and maybe some of the Americans who come here and love our nation very much – also since there are so many Americans of Italian origin – will dedicate themselves to telling them.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity
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