Luisa Giuliani
Film Commission
The Location Scouting Program for 2024 is closed.
A long-term goal of the IDM Film Commission (from now on referred to as IDM) is to strengthen the local audiovisual sector and to promote South Tyrol as a film location to develop the macroeconomic value of the territory. To achieve these goals and empower the local film industry, IDM offers a location scouting program to film and TV productions who wish to learn more about South Tyrol's potential as a film location. The program provides production companies with the chance to organize a tailor-made location tour in South Tyrol designed by a local professional.
The location scouting program covers the preparation and the location scout's expenses during the tour (max. duration of three days). The financial support assigned for the location scouting program will be shared with the production after the application has been reviewed and approved by IDM.
Please note that IDM only bears the costs of any local location scout. The production company must then cover their travel, board, and lodging expenses.
It is also possible to arrange an online consultation with local location scouts who will be in charge of researching the territory.
No reimbursement of expenses carried by the production company during the scouting program is allowed.
Once production has obtained the support for the scouting program, it is necessary to take advantage of the service within 2024.
Resources for the scouting program are limited, hence support will be dispensed until the fund comes to an end.
1. Who can apply?
Production companies, or executive producers, with feature-length fiction projects or series in the pre-production phase that regard South Tyrol as a potential filming location, may apply for the IDM scouting sessions. Short films, documentaries, or commercials are not allowed. The project type must be among those eligible for support from the provincial fund. To this end, please refer to the Production Funding Fact sheet.
Please note: should a production company decide to apply for a grant from the provincial fund after participating in a scouting session, participation in the latter does not in any way guarantee a positive outcome of the grant application. Furthermore, production companies that have received development and pre-production support from IDM or have already taken advantage of the IDM Scouting program in 2021 and 2022 are not eligible for further applications.
2. Required application documents
> The completed application form for funding
> A company description with detailed filmography
> Synopsis
> A mood board indicating the environments on which to focus research in the territory
> Project's budget
> If the applicant works as an executive producer for the production, a document that demonstrates his/her involvement in this role in the project
3. When is it possible to apply?
Application are now closed. If, for whatever reason, productions who have received the scouting will not be able to carry it out within December 31st, 2024, they will lose the support for the scouting service provided by IDM and will be asked to re-apply for it, if interested.
All application materials must be sent via the online application form.
4. Selection process
After reviewing and assessing the application material, IDM will decide whether or not to support the project with scouting services and the length of the service itself.
Upon a positive outcome, the recruitment process for a Location Scout may begin. A list of local professionals is already available in the IDM Directory.
5. Adoption criteria for the selection of a project
IDM reserves the right to verify and evaluate all applications received.
The evaluation will be carried out in two stages:
> Formal verification of application material: completeness of all documents and fulfillment of all requirements.
> Selection of the candidate: IDM reserves the right to decide whether or not to award the production company the free scouting service based on its potential to boost the strategic development of South Tyrol as a film location.
The evaluation will be made based on the submitted documents. The following are considered in the evaluation:
> Experience and knowledge of South Tyrol (preference will be given to applications from production companies that have never filmed in South Tyrol)
> Feasibility and congruence of the request with the territory
> Financial soundness of the production company
> Lack of the requested location in the database IDM
6. Final meeting
The success of the scouting session is in IDM’s best interest. For this reason, a meeting at the end of the scouting is requested for feedback.