Note from regional councilor Paolo Pagliaro.
“Puglia has always been an excellence in the film industry, creating jobs and wealth also thanks to Apulia Film Commission, which today, however, is struggling due to poor management. This vital sector is on its knees, with producers and the entire supply chain in serious crisis.
Cinema generates opportunities for directors, actors, technicians, electricians, engineers and all the related industries. But two serious and linked problems are threatening this system: delays in the publication of calls for proposals and delays in the disbursement of funds. These funds, which are not non-repayable but cover 40% of the budget, force producers to go into debt with banks. When the funds arrive late, producers are forced to pay very high bank interest, putting the entire production at risk.
There are even films produced three years ago that have received funding only a few days ago. The producers had to pay huge interest and are now in serious trouble. The situation is collapsing.
We ask that the Councilor for Culture and the Councilor for Economic Activities of the Puglia Region intervene immediately to resolve this stalemate. If we don’t act now, Puglia risks losing its cinematographic excellence in favor of more organized regions such as Calabria, Lazio and Trentino. It is already happening. The ability of the Puglia Region to ruin everything that is positive is incredible. We remember the failure of the Cineporti project, symbols of innovation now abandoned. In Lecce the Cineporto has been closed since 2019, the Bertolucci room has been in disuse for years. In Taranto all cultural activities have ceased. In Foggia the Cineporto is inaccessible due to bogged down renovation work. Only the Cineporto in Bari is open, but in terrible conditions and used mostly as a warehouse. We took care of it two years ago but nothing has improved and nothing has been resolved since then.
Cinema is one of the few cultural sectors that bring in more money than they consume. For this reason it cannot be managed only by culture, but must also involve productive activities. Vision, foresight, organization and precision are needed in the publication of calls for tenders and in the disbursement of funds.
We must act immediately to prevent everything from collapsing and Puglia, as an excellence, from finding itself in the abyss of mismanagement”
