Netflix and Italian Film Commissions have announced the creation of the Support Fund for TV and Cinema in the COVID-19 emergency with the aim of providing short-term emergency support to the workers and crews of the Italian audiovisual industry directly affected by the stop to local productions for the Coronavirus crisis.
Netflix contributes with one million euros for the creation of the Support Fund for TV and Cinema in the emergency COVID-19, which will be managed by Italian Film Commissions and will be used to provide emergency support to professional figures in the television industry and film like e.g. electricians, fitters and make-up artists, whose work was most affected by the ongoing pandemic.
“In this moment that calls all of us to special efforts, the Italian Film Commissions, with their dynamism and presence in the area, will bring support to the crews and professional figures most affected by the block of activities with Netflix. Being able to be at the service of the audiovisual with a reality like Netflix is a significant opportunity, dedicating this fund to the workers is an important action, we hope that other players in the sector want to share it with us," says Cristina Priarone, President of IFC - Italian Film Commissions.
“We are happy to work with Italian Film Commissions to support professionals in the television and cinema supply chain most affected by the Coronavirus emergency. The workers and crews have always been vital for Netflix's success and now we want to do our part and help those who need it most at an unprecedented time like the one we are experiencing," says Felipe Tewes, Director of the Original Series for Europe and Africa in Netflix.
The establishment of the Support Fund for TV and Cinema in the COVID-19 emergency in Italy is part of the broader global initiative that Netflix announced on March 20, with the creation of a $100 million fund to support of the audiovisual workers, where most of the fund is dedicated to the workers of the Italian Netflix productions and the rest of the world affected by the emergency, while 15 million dollars are destined, in the countries where Netflix has a large production base , to initiatives with third parties and associations (such as Italian Film Commissions) to support the workers of the audiovisual industry as a whole (therefore not limited to Netflix productions).
This global fund also adds to the two weeks' pay to the cast and crew involved in Netflix productions suspended in Italy and around the world that had already been granted before the fund was set up.