On September 17th, Comune of Otranto, in collaboration with Apulia Film Commission, MiBACT, the Department for Economic Development of the Apulia Region, organizes, in the frame of Otranto Film Fund Festival (15-18 September), a meeting with all the representatives of public institutions dealing with cinematography within the Adriatic-Ionian area. They will debate and analyze the main aspects concerning the creation and production of audiovisual works, focusing in particular on: strengthening of film industry, technological innovations with reference to postproduction, promotion and distribution (Audience development), Festivals’ network, market rules, relationships with the EU and support policies.

The meeting will be moderated by Alessandro Leogrande (journalist and writer). The meeting will be led and moderated by Luigi de Luca. Participants will be Luciano Carridi (Mayor of Otranto), Luciano Schitto (Director of OFFF), Ilir Butka (Albanian National Centre of Cinematography), Arben Papadhopulli (Responsible for Creative Europe MEDIA desk in Albania), Elektra Venaki (Greek Film Centre), Dimitris Yatzouzakis (Mediterranean Film Institute), Hrvoje Hribar (Croatian Audiovisual Centre), Stefania Ippoliti (President of  Italian Film Commission) Maurizio Sciarra (Director/President of Apulia Film Commission), Paolo Vidali (Fondo Audiovisivo Friuli Venezia Giulia), Emma Barboni (Emilia Romagna Film Commission) Andrea Coluccia (Responsible for Creative Europe MEDIA desk in Bari), Domenico Ioffredi (Consigliere regionale del Molise con delega alla Cultura e Molisani nel mondo) Alberto La Monica (Direttore del Forum di Cooproduzione Euro Mediterraneo), Michalis Panagopoulos (Assistant Professor Audiovisual Signal Processing Lab; Dept. of Audiovisual Arts – Faculty of Music and Audiovisual Arts Ionian University).

The main aim of the fund is to support, in a prospect of European integration, the strengthening of a common productive and distributive system of the cinematographic industries operating in the Ionian-Adriatic Region, with an openness to the Balkan area, in order to make its territories more competitive, promote projects and attract new investments in a strategic sector for the regional development.

Through the work of Apulia Film Commission, Apulia can become a strategic partner and facilitate the ongoing processes, thanks to the remarkable experience of cooperation between Apulia and the other regions of the area.

The project is part of a wider, already started process of strengthening and development of the cultural and creative industries operating in the whole area, in a prospect of common economic growing, values and future.

Otranto, which is the place where the contents of the project were developed, discussed and agreed upon in the past years, could become the setting where they can find a formal actualization by the public institutions of the area, as it already was for the successful 2014 agreement between Apulia Region and Albania, signed by the Albanian Minister of Culture. In this respect, in the meeting held at Brussels in the last September and dedicated to the EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, the President of Apulia Michele Emiliano talked about “the lucky chance to be at the doors of the Mediterranean region, with prolific relations with Greece, Albania, the Balkans and the other Mediterranean Countries. We all share an emotional and sentimental connection which is essential to the development of great European strategies”.

Thus, the Cinema, with its power to tell stories and shape emotions, may give its fundamental contribution to the building of a common background of new identities and economies.