Italian Screens Returns to India at Habitat International Film Festival 2025
The 6th edition of the Habitat International Film Festival, taking place from March 21st to 30th in Delhi, shines a spotlight on Italy as the Focus Country, bringing back the ITALIAN SCREENS initiative. The program was unveiled today at the Habitat Centre during a press conference attended by distinguished guests, including Roberto Stabile, Head of the International Department at Cinecittà, Andrea Anastasio, Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in New Delhi, Stefano Francia di Celle, Curator of the Focus Country Italy, and acclaimed Italian filmmaker Marco Tullio Giordana.
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The Focus is divided into two parts: Italian Screens section, featuring films produced and released in 2024 and a selection of classics, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the legendary Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.
Italian Screens has been curated to showcase a diverse range of genres and emerging voices, including talents showcased at the latest edition of the Venice International Film Festival.
Beyond screenings, Italian Screens also highlights tax incentives, funding programs, and co-production opportunities for filmmakers interested in shooting in Italy.
Speaking about the initiative, Roberto Stabile, Head of the International Department at Cinecittà, stated "We are delighted to return to New Delhi for the fourth edition of Italian Screens to showcase the best of contemporary Italian cinema and promote tax incentives for distribution and co-productions. Supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, this initiative also aims to strengthen Indo-Italian creative collaboration and present our funding opportunities.”
The Italian incentive scheme envisages a Fund for promoting investment in the film and audiovisual industry (films, TV and web programmes and series, documentaries, animations, shorts and interactive narrative games).
Over the years, the endowment has increased to a minimum annual budget of about 700 million euros and is focused on accelerating export growth, boosting revenues and deepening international relationships. This amount is also
allocated to fund the automatic tax credit, which is worth 40% of the eligible cost of the production. In addition to that, there are Regional Funds for a total amount of about 70 million euros at a national level, dedicated to support national and international productions.
Roberto Stabile continued “We hope to see more collaborations between Indian filmmakers and Italian companies. We are presenting an Italian-Indian co-production film “Parikrama” directed by Goutam Ghose here and look forward to more in the future. Indian filmmakers are also welcome to shoot in Italy, particularly at Cinecittà studios.”
The initiative also seeks to strengthen the distribution of Italian cinema by increasing its presence in established markets and exploring emerging ones, creating new opportunities for growth. Italy’s Film Distribution Fund offers 2,000,000 euros to support theatrical distribution. Foreign distributors can apply for a maximum contribution of 50,000 euros per film.
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