Puglia’s international positioning has grown through a precise strategy, backed by the capability to manage large-scale productions.
The Apulia Film Commission is presenting in Venice the call for the new Film Fund, which provides for an allocation of €5M for the call at the end of 2026.
A Region that proves generous toward the national and international industry, working with a view to supporting the Italian System. This emerges from the words of Apulia Film Commission’s Director Antonio Parente, who has officially led the institution for ten years now. Alongside the Apulia Film Commission’s President Anna Maria Tosto, and surrounded by a team of highly skilled professionals, Parente has managed to bring the Region to the center of the global industry, implementing policies that go beyond a purely territorial vision and aim, with ambition, to embrace major international projects.
The Vision
“Italy has exceptional appeal, and we work with a national collaboration mindset. Our Italian system needs to attract large-scale projects that land across multiple regions,” says Antonio Parente. “Our strength lies in Puglia’s professional ability to manage very large sets. These are highly complex operations from a hosting standpoint. A model that requires service conferences, police headquarters and prefectures to work in sync. When a region does this well, it’s the best calling card. It’s no coincidence that we often work with the United States, thanks to a privileged relationship with California that generates a virtuous exchange, bringing many projects to Puglia.”
Puglia has indeed served as a location for Wonder Woman, No Time to Die, as well as The Resurrection of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s ambitious sequel to The Passion of the Christ, and major US Netflix Original productions like the recent Dolce, produced by Groenlandia and starring Denzel Washington.
“Spectacular, camera-ready locations exist all over the world,” Parente continues. “A region’s ability to attract productions comes from a combination of skills. First and foremost: the professionalism of Apulian talent, or of those who have chosen Puglia as their home.”
In particular, Puglia’s international positioning strategy has intensified through several lines of action. One is the publication of calls with strong economic and institutional support for productions that don’t necessarily need to be set in Puglia — a strategy that has been pursued in recent times. Then there’s the organization of initiatives like the Apulia Film Forum, a fixed appointment since 2009: a small market for independent and auteur feature filmmaking that has made Puglia recognizable on the film and industry landscape. Running from November 12 to 15, the Forum returns for the second year in partnership with the EPC — European Producers Club — hosting around eighty producers in a program of meetings and training upgrades that directly involves local companies, as part of a long-term strategy.
“The other activity we have significantly intensified over the past 10 years is building formal agreements and institutional relationships.” Among these, it’s worth mentioning the historic relationship with Film London, a partner in curating initiatives tied to specific parts of the film supply chain, such as co-developing projects between Italy and the UK.
“This year, for example, they will help build part of the ADE — Apulia Digital Experience — program with us.” The event, organized by Apulia Film Commission in collaboration with Rai Com, focuses on digital innovation in the creative industries, examining the professional impact technology is having. “This has made — and will continue to make — Puglia an important place for reflection in our country, with the ambition of offering a systemic contribution through our expertise and experience on how essential it is to explore topics such as artificial intelligence and the dematerialization of film work.” Film London will contribute in particular to the program dedicated to gaming. “An aspect of the Italian and Apulian supply chain that needs to be developed further to generate national growth. We’ll start from Game London’s experience, drawing on how a film commission managed to expand its horizons,” Parente explains.
There are also international cooperation projects such as Interreg, tied to the Adriatic area or other European countries, which have allowed the film commission to become a lead partner in initiatives involving the co-development of audiovisual works, co-funding through EU funds, and European co-production projects.
Finally, we carry on several activities at international markets to promote the entire Puglia System.
Shot In Puglia
Puglia features prominently in the fall Festivals handover. The Spiral (L’Estranea), directed by Apulia-born Paolo Strippoli, is premiering in Competition at Venice and then screening in Toronto and Austin (Fantastic Fest). Shot largely in Bari, Monopoli and Gioia del Colle, the film uses the region as more than a setting: Apulia becomes part of the narrative, helping shape the film’s identity.
Nino, directed by Bari-born filmmaker and editor Walter Fasano, is screening at Venice Out Of Competition. Through archival material, international testimonials and a concert staged at the Bari auditorium that bears Nino Rota’s name, the documentary explores the composer’s deep connection with the city, where he taught and served as Conservatory director for 40 years. The film brings renewed attention to one of the most important chapters in Apulia’s cultural heritage.
Rounding out the region’s presence in Venice is Tommaso Acquarone’s Angelo Azzurro, competing in the Orizzonti section. Developed within the Interreg Italy-Croatia project “REEL – A Cinematic Journey through Italy and Croatia,” the short film explores the transition from childhood to adolescence through a story set between the sea and the railway, further demonstrating the commitment to emerging filmmakers.
Among the established productions currently underway is Francesco Lopez’s La meraviglia del mondo, starring Riccardo Scamarcio, which brings cinema and history together through the figure of Frederick II of Swabia (the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, who held a deep and special bond with Puglia). Meanwhile, Dreamcatchers , a psychological thriller directed by Daniela De Francesco, is an international co-production between Italy, Belgium, and Argentina..
Work continues on a diverse slate of other projects, from Serena Porta’s Eien and Mario Tani’s Gli Intrusi to Caro mondo crudele, La principessa delle acque and Niente è come te, reflecting an increasingly active and varied production landscape.
Many productions are currently underway and a Fall season dense with movie sets is expected ahead, including major Italian series and twenty feature films shooting between fall 2026 and spring 2027.
Promotional activities are carried out by the Apulia Film Commission and the Puglia Region using resources from the POC Puglia 2021–2027, Thematic Area 06, as part of the “Promuovere il Cinema 2025/2026” initiative.
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Read more: Cinema & Video International Issue #208
