On 12 May 2020, the Regional Council of Puglia Region approved the Extraordinary Plan for Culture and Entertainment called “Custodiamo la Cultura in Puglia” (“Let’s Preserve Culture in Puglia”), fielding € 17.15 million to support the Apulian companies and operators during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This Plan is in line with the fiscal and support measures already adopted at the European, national and regional levels. It aims to provide non-reimbursable emergency funds to protect built cultural heritage in the region in the last ten years and support investments in artistic production, digital innovation, public training and programming for 2021.
Within this fund, € 6.65 million will be dedicated to support cinema, including:
• € 1.15 million to support to the production of “D'Autore” cinema, with the creation of 3 funds including a “Development Film Production Fund”, a “Social Film Production – Con il Sud 2020 Fund” and a “ShortMovie, Animation & Gaming Fund”;
• € 5 million to launch the new Apulia Film Fund 2020/2021 for feature films, fictions and doc;
• € 500,000 to support programming through a new video streaming platform, with the help of a network of Apulian cinema operators, art-house movies produced by Apulia Film Commission.
The remaining funds will support cultural, creative, entertainment and cinema companies, as well as the local publishing sector. Another portion is dedicated to back the 2020/2021 call to the whole entertainment industry, as well as audience engagement, research & development and programming.
The new Plan is managed by a Help Desk in charge of monitoring the crisis and support to the sector. It will help the cultural & creativity companies access to clear and straightforward information, guide them through the multiple measures adopted by the different authorities, access the support funds available, activate alternative working methods and face the challenge of turnover and employment sustainability.
