Latina Film Commission offers 5,000 Euros to shoot on location in the region

Oct 13 2010 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

AN Italian town is offering Wirral film-makers a 5,000 Euro grant, equipment and staff in return for shooting on location in the region.

Latina, just south of Rome, is twinned with Wirral and now its Film Commission is appealing for ambitious auteurs to get in touch with their ideas.

Latina Film Commission general director, Reno Piccolo told the News: “All you have to do is apply in writing with a simple story, it could be a synopsis for a feature film, or a documentary, short film or music video and all you have to do is write up the idea.

“The only requirement to apply for this fund is that you would have to talk about our province, that would be the beauty, the nature or its characters, its people or some historic facts about the province – anything that could be related.

“We will then examine all the projects and if your project is selected, we would award you 5,000 Euro as a grant, which is non-returnable.

“On top of that we offer, to the director or producer, accommodation and equipment.

“They could stay here for a few days say, or a week, and take advantage of the high definition camera that we have, the lighting support and some staff.”

The offer comes in the wake of the third Wirral International Film Festival (WIFF), attended for the second time by Reno and colleagues last month, and builds on the burgeoning cultural interchange between our peninsula and its Italian twin.

Just south of Rome, in the Lazio region, Latina was only founded in 1932 when the surrounding marshland was drained.

It now boasts around 115,000 inhabitants and is an important centre for agriculture and cheese production.

The 2007 Italian film, My Brother is an Only Child was set in the province.

And Reno believes it has much to offer the aspiring film-maker.

He said: “We have beautiful, historic, medieval villages such as Sermoneta, where we shoot a lot of films.

“They are amazing and have really stayed the way they are for hundreds of years - all you have to do is point and shoot.

“We also have beautiful beaches with very particular and peculiar dunes where we shoot many films.

“There are some great landscapes across the region.”

To apply, visit www.latinafilmcommission.it