Italy’s Film Co-Production Treaties: A Complete Introduction for Producers

Italy operates one of the most extensive networks of film co-production treaties in Europe — 39 bilateral treaties covering Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, plus participation in the multilateral European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production. For Italian producers and their international partners, these treaties are the legal infrastructure that transforms a transnational production project into an “official co-production” with access to multiple national funding systems, tax incentives, dual nationality benefits, and pan-European distribution channels.

This guide introduces the co-production treaty as a legal instrument and provides a complete overview of Italy’s treaty network. For specific country guides, see our international film co-productions guide (France, Germany, Spain, UK, USA, Japan), our Italy-Balkans guide, and our Romania 45% rebate guide.

What is a co-production treaty

A film co-production treaty is a bilateral or multilateral international agreement between sovereign states that establishes a legal framework allowing producers from each signatory country to collaborate on cinematographic and audiovisual works with shared status as “national” works in all participating countries. Treaties typically establish:

• Minimum and maximum contribution thresholds for each participating producer;
• Cultural and creative test requirements;
• Participation requirements for cast, crew, and technical resources from each country;
• Certification procedures with each country’s national film body;
• Shared rights and benefits attaching to the resulting work.

Treaties operate as an exception to the general framework where each country’s audiovisual policy applies only to its own national productions. Under a treaty, the resulting film qualifies as a national work of all participating countries simultaneously.

Why co-produce officially

Official co-production status (as distinct from service production or informal collaboration) provides:

• National status in all participating countries: the film is considered “Italian” in Italy, “French” in France, “German” in Germany, etc. — with full access to each country’s national audiovisual framework;
• Access to public funding: each participating country’s film funds, regional grants, broadcaster pre-purchases, and other public support;
• Tax incentive stacking: subject to anti-double-funding rules, multiple national tax incentives can be combined for the same project;
• Distribution access: each country’s national distribution networks, including quotas reserved for national content;
• Cultural quotas: counting toward European quotas under the AVMS Directive and national broadcasting quotas;
• Eurimages and Creative Europe MEDIA: access to multilateral European funding instruments;
• Festival eligibility: dual or multiple national qualifications for festivals reserving categories for national films.

For projects with multi-country relevance — culturally, financially, or commercially — co-production status often provides substantially greater benefit than the additional structural complexity costs.

Bilateral treaty vs European Convention

Italian producers have two parallel pathways to official co-production status:

• Bilateral treaty: specific to the two participating countries. Italy has 39 bilateral treaties (see below) governing two-country collaborations. Each treaty has specific terms regarding contribution thresholds, cultural tests, and procedural requirements;
• European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production: multilateral framework adopted by the Council of Europe in 1992 and revised in Rotterdam in 2017. Provides a common framework for two or more countries among the 43+ ratifying states. See our European Convention guide for full details.

For two-country projects between Italy and an active bilateral partner, the bilateral treaty is usually preferred for procedural simplicity and specific terms. For three-country and multi-country projects, the Convention framework typically provides better structure.

Italy’s bilateral treaty network

Italy’s 39 bilateral co-production treaties cover:

• Western Europe: France (1949 + 2003 update), Germany (1960), Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, UK, Ireland;
• Eastern Europe and Balkans: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Ukraine — see our Italy-Balkans guide;
• The Americas: Canada (1985), Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile;
• Asia: Japan (1957), China, India, South Korea, Vietnam;
• Middle East and Africa: Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa;
• Oceania: Australia, New Zealand.

The treaty network reflects historical cultural relationships (Romance language partners, former colonial connections) plus modern commercial considerations (USA service production despite no formal treaty, emerging Japan/Korea/China collaborations). For the most active partnerships (France, Germany, Spain, UK), the bilateral treaties are widely used and well-documented in industry practice.

Qualification requirements

Common qualification requirements across most Italian treaties:

• Minimum contribution: each country’s producer must contribute at least 20% (sometimes 10% in multilateral cases under the Convention) of the production budget;
• Maximum contribution: typically capped at 80-90% to maintain genuine bi-/multilateral character;
• Creative and technical balance: financial contribution should be broadly proportional to creative/technical participation;
• National personnel: contribution of crew, cast, and technical services from each country;
• Production location: principal photography and post-production typically in participating countries (third-country shooting permitted within specified limits);
• Cultural test: scoring system measuring “Italianness” or European cultural character;
• Pre-shooting registration: official application typically required at least 4 weeks before principal photography.

MiC certification procedure

For Italian co-producers, certification is administered through the Direzione Generale Cinema e Audiovisivo (MiC) with the following procedure:

• Pre-shooting application with full project documentation;
• Cultural test compliance assessment;
• Co-production agreement review;
• Partner verification with foreign film body;
• Provisional certification (recognition pending final compliance);
• Production execution per certified terms;
• Final certification upon production completion and audit.

The Italian framework integrates with D.I. MiC-MEF 225/2024 for tax credit access — see our Italian film tax credit guide. The mandatory AI clause under Article 7 paragraph 6 D.I. 225/2024 applies to co-productions accessing Italian tax credit.

Service production: the non-treaty alternative

Where no applicable bilateral treaty exists, or where co-production status is not strategically beneficial, service production provides an alternative:

• One party (typically Italian) provides production services to a foreign principal producer;
• The Italian service producer can access the Italian foreign producer tax credit (up to 40%);
• The Italian service producer does not become a national co-author or share in ownership of the film;
• Most commonly used for USA productions in Italy (no formal Italy-USA treaty);
• Can also bridge to formal co-production for additional partners on the same project.

How DANDI supports co-production structures

DANDI.media supports Italian producers and international partners across all co-production frameworks:

• Treaty applicability analysis and partner identification;
• Co-production agreement drafting (bilingual or English neutral);
• MiC certification application and procedure;
• European Convention framework and multilateral structures;
• Service production structures for non-treaty partners;
• Italian tax credit integration with co-production status;
• Eurimages and Creative Europe MEDIA application coordination;
• Cross-border tax and employment compliance.

For consultation, book directly with Avv. Claudia Roggero or Avv. Donato Di Pelino.

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