The signing of an agreement for the construction of a laboratory for Immersive Arts training between Marta Donzelli, President of the Fondazione del Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, and Elena Donazzan, Regional Councillor for Education, happened today. This is the ultimate result of months of consultations between CSC, the Veneto Region, and the Veneto Film Commission.

“I am happy to announce here in Venice the project that we have been developing for the past 5 months with the Veneto Region and the Veneto Film Commission - declares the President of the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Marta Donzelli - I thank the Director, Jacopo Chessa, for establishing contact with the Veneto Region’s Councillors for Education, Training, Work, and Equal Opportunities and Territory, Culture, Safety, and Sport. This connection between the two institutions will give birth to the first training centre in Italy and Europe dedicated to Immersive Arts. The Centro Sperimentale, as the word itself says, has always worked and focused on experimentation, and today, experimenting means thinking about the frontiers of cinema and audiovisual languages. I think that for young people willing to approach audiovisual languages by gaining the skills contemporary technology provides us all with, it will be a fascinating and exciting experience. These tools will surely change the modalities of how we describe reality.”

“The idea of creating a school dedicated to immersion in Veneto is a demonstration that Veneto is a land of innovation, both in terms of technology, languages and aesthetics - comments Jacopo Chessa, Director of the Veneto Film Commission - moreover, the Venice Film Festival hosts one of the most important showcases of XR works in the world, making the presence in the area of CSC - Immersive Arts even more strategic. We are confident that this project, which is fresh and unique, will soon provide significant outcomes.”

The agreement was signed as part of the events taking place in the Veneto Film Commission/Veneto Region Space located in the Hotel Excelsior, the beating heart of the 79th Venice International Film Festival. The Veneto Film Commission, acting as a go-between for the Region and the CSC, will take care of the analysis of the needs for the Veneto area in order to better identify the interventions of training and accompaniment to the profession. The Region will bear the costs associated with the realisation of the training project for an amount of 250,000 euros.

“This agreement allows us to establish a real and true school of immersive arts in Venice -as Councillor Elena Donazzan emphasises - we want to strengthen Venice’s current cinema identity and look into the future. This is in response to the significant and growing demand the world of cinema has for professionals. In particular, we have observed a need for specialised video production profiles that are proficient in using and creating the most cutting-edge new technology. Because of the new numerous opportunities for distribution, the firms, the communication companies, and the television production companies represent a formidable field for the development of the labour market. The Veneto regional administration’s policy is to allow new professionals to gain skills in line with the market’s demands and the state of the economy. “

“This is a remarkable moment - explained Cristiano Corazzari, Regional Councillor for Culture of the Veneto Region - where, thanks to our “Venetian pragmatism”, we were able to make this project a reality. This initiative allows us to trigger virtuous paths. Venice and the Veneto Region are the ideal terrains for making productions, and we want to add the humus of the most advanced professionalism to better face the challenges that await us”.

 The activities will be coordinated and monitored by a steering committee chaired by the Training and Education Department of the Veneto Region and composed of:

- two members identified by the Director of the Training and Education Directorate from among the regional staff

- two members nominated by the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia

- a member appointed by the Fondazione Veneto Film Commission.

We’ll shortly examine the launch of the first pilot programme, in the form of a summer camp to be held in the summer of 2023 on the island of San Servolo. At the same time, we will make efforts to start the first two-year courses in full immersion mode as early as September 2023, with a maximum of 12 students per group.