The Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) – currently presided over by Paolo Baratta – has for over a century been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Ever since its foundation, it has been at the forefront in the research and promotion of new artistic trends. In Venice, it organises international events in the field of the contemporary arts that are amongst the most important of their kind in the world.

In 2011, the Biennale is to organize the 3rd Arsenale della Danza (17th January to 15th May), the 2nd Kids’ Carnival (26th February to 8th March), the 54th International Art Exhibition - ILLUMInations (4th June to 27th November), the 68th Venice International Film Festival (31st August to 10th September), the 55th International Festival of Contemporary Music (24th September to 1st October), and the 41st International Theatre Festival (10th to 16th October).

New permanent activities run alongside these major events, thanks to the newly available refurbished permanent sites in Venice (Ca’ Giustinian and the Sala delle Colonne for exhibitions and meetings; area for kids; new Biennale Library-ASAC at Giardini for study, research and meetings; Workshops and Educational activities featuring master classes, projects for schools and guided tours; in addition to the Historical Archives of the Biennale at ASAC-VEGA and its collections available for consultation).

The new organization was born in 1998 after the transformation of the former Autonomous Body La Biennale di Venezia into a Cultural Society, a legal entity of private law that took on the name of Foundation in 2004.

Ministry of Heritage and Culture (Mi.B.A.C.)
General Direction for Cinema

The General Direction for Cinema was established in May 2001, when - following the reform of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture - has inherited, along with the Directorate-General for the Performing live, functions and responsibilities of the Department of Performing Arts. The Italian cinema had, so, for the first time a specific reference operational structure.

The institutional mandate of the Directorate General for Cinema is the promotion, development and diffusion of Italian cinema and the national film industry.

The Directorate General shall use the sums allocated to the film activities only from the Fund 'Fondo unico dello spettacolo' (FUS) and relies on the work of special commissions, required by the sector regulations.

Website: www.cinema.beniculturali.it

If you think in pictures, Italy is the ideal place to put your cinema, television or advertising plans into action. You can rely on the 18 Film Commissions that make up the "Italian Film Commission" (IFC) Association Network.
Spread nationwide, from North to South, Italian Film Commissions are the key intermediaries who can provide practical personalised services and valuable support to any kind of production. With Italian Film Commissions you can make the most of the extraordinary diversity of the Italian territory from unique natural landscapes to historical and architectural treasures - the envy of the rest of the world. But above all the IFC Network guarantees quality and the top professional skills in each and every Film Commission providing every area of audiovisual production with a range of services, from logistic assistance to filming permits, from location scouting to raising local financial resources.

 Website: www.italianfilmcommissions.it

The Ischia Film Festival is an international film festival dedicated specifically to the location of the cinema. The festival is produced by the Cultural Art Movie e Music Association and its founder and Artistic Director is Michelangelo Messina.

The first edition of the festival was held in 2003 in the island of Ischia with the name of Foreign Film Festival. The event was born with the intention of giving an artistic recognition to the works, the directors, the directors of photography and the production designers who have enhanced Italian or foreign locations to entice the spectators the desire to know and visit the sights.

The festival, which takes place in July, annually organizes the National Conference on Movie Tourism. The film festival has three competitive sections dedicated to short films and documentaries, a special section called Primo Piano for ail feature films and a section out of competition called Scenari. The festival is part of AFIC, the Italian Association of Film Festival, which belong to other similar national events of major importance for the promotion of Italian cinema.

 Website: www.ischiafilmfestival.it

EUFCN is a non-profit association which supports and promotes the European film industry and culture.

Its main goals are to create a network of the most active European Film Commissions; to promote the exchange of information between members; to sustain the development of location searches and shooting opportunities; and to carry out professional and educational activities for members. Furthermore, it is also involved in promoting Film Commission activities with Public Institutions, the European Community and the film industry; conducting projects funded by the European Union; supporting the film industry; organizing seminars and conferences; analyzing the needs of producers of films and TV dramas and meeting these needs.

Today, the EUFCN represents 78 European Film Commissions from 23 countries.

 Website: www.eufcn.net

How do you close a street for an important shot? How do you open the doors at an abandoned ghost town? How do you find answers to any location question? You ask a member of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), the official worldwide association of government film contacts.

Website: www.afci.org

The ICE, National Institute for Foreign Trade, is the entity that is responsible for developing, facilitating and promoting Italian commercial and economic relations with foreign countries, with particular attention to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, their associations and groupings. To accomplish this, ICE, in  collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development prepare the program of promotional activities, taking the necessary initiatives and directly taking care of the realization. The ICE has its headquarters in Rome and has a network of 17 offices in Italy and 115 offices in 88 countries around the world.

The Italian Film Commission (IFC) is a division of the Italian Trade Commission (ITC) and functions as the promotion office for the audiovisual industry. The IFC provides information and assistance to american industry of television, cinema and audiovisual to promote and encourage the use of location, facilities and personnel of Italian production.
It is based in Los Angeles.

 Website: www.filminginitaly.com

Seville International Locations Expo (SILE) is the European trade fair for the locations market and is attended by Film Commissions/Offices worldwide, film studios, audio-visual producers (film, television and advertising), production directors, locations managers and many other audio-visual professionals, with the common objective of trade and business creation.

SILE is expert in understanding the current situation of the industry in which the current audio-visual scene are adapting to new technologies and devising new marketing strategies. Thus, these are the main underlying themes of SILE 2010, which offers professionals a comprehensive overview of current trends, while illustrating the opportunities stemming from these changes.

Website: www.silesevilla.com