Netflix and Italian Film Commissions announced the establishment of a new COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund to provide emergency short term relief to the active workers in the TV and cinema industry - fitters, electricians and make up artists -, who have been directly affected by the closure of productions across Italy due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Netflix will donate 1 Million Euro to launch the fund that will be handled by Italian Film Commissions.
More details about the fund and the precise eligibility criteria are being defined and they will be made public in the coming weeks on the website of the Italian Film Commissions: italianfilmcommissions.it
“In such a moment where everybody is requested to make special efforts, the Italian film commissions, being dynamic and ‘on the ground’, together with Netflix, will provide relief to the hardest hit workers by the stop of the productions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a remarkable opportunity for us to partner with Netflix and to be able to service the audiovisual community; devoting this fund to the active workers is a meaningful action, and we hope other players in our industry will join us on this,” Cristina Priarone, President of IFC - Italian Film Commissions, said.
“We’re grateful to be working with Italian Film Commissions to support the hardest hit workers in TV and film productions affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Italian crews have always been vital to Netflix’s success and now we want to do our part and help those who most need support in these unprecedented times” Felipe Tewes, Director Original Series at Netflix, said.The creation of the COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund is part of a broader announcement Netflix made March 20 to set up a $100 million fund for creatives whose jobs have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Most of those funds will go towards support for the hardest hit workers on Netflix’s own productions in Italy and around the world and is in addition to the two weeks’ pay they already committed to the crew and cast on productions that have been suspended.
Netflix’s donation to the COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund, as well as to other organisations around the world, is part of the $15 million of the hardship fund that will be dedicated to providing emergency relief to out-of-work crew across the broader film and television industry in the countries where Netflix has a large production base.
