Every year, the world’s film industry comes to Veneto. From September 2 to 12, 2026, the Lido hosted the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. The Golden Lion went to May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown (Kvinde ukendt), while Ilya Khrzhanovsky took the Silver Lion for Best Director for DAU. Meanwhile, Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement honored George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn. Italy was strongly represented too, with five of the 21 films in the main competition.
For the region hosting the festival, however, the Lido is also a showcase. At the Hotel Excelsior, the Regione del Veneto and the Veneto Film Commission ran the Spazio Regione Veneto throughout the festival, with more than 80 events: screenings, press conferences, panels, presentations, awards and meetings for schools. The Region has had a presence at the festival since 2007, and since 2021 it has shared the management of the space with the Film Commission. This year’s central moment was set for September 9, with the panel Fare sistema per il cinema. Il contributo delle Regioni (Working together for cinema: the role of the regions). It was scheduled to bring together culture councillors from several Italian regions and Federico Mollicone, President of the Culture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
Beyond the festival, the Fondazione Veneto Film Commission, based in Venice, supports productions all year round. Its services are free for productions filming in the region. They include help with permits to use public land in the seven provincial capitals (Venice, Belluno, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Verona and Vicenza), location manager days and overnight stays, allocated by the Commission per project, and promotional support for Veneto productions selected at major international festivals.
Funding is the other key pillar. In 2026, the Region’s production call, financed through the European Regional Development Fund, is worth €3.68 million across two windows. It is open to film production SMEs based anywhere in the EU, and it offers productions with environmental certification non-repayable grants of up to €250,000 for features, €350,000 for series and €36,000 for documentaries, shorts and XR works. The second window runs from December 1, 2026 to February 2, 2027. In addition, a new €100,000 Development Fund supports Veneto-based companies, and a Location Scouting Fund covers transport, hospitality and location manager costs during pre-production.
The results are already visible. According to the Region, the first 29 works it supported, with about €4 million, generated €12 million in economic impact in the region. Three of them, Le città di pianura, Primavera and Duse, were nominated at the 2026 David di Donatello awards. Meanwhile, the second season of the Rai series Stucky was shot in and around Treviso in spring 2026.
Long after the festival crowds leave the Lido, the work continues. The Region expects to invest about €30 million in the sector between 2018 and 2027.
Read more: Cinema & Video International Issue #209
