EU Crossing Stories: Key Highlights from the Event
01/09/2025
On Friday 29 August, we organised the event EU Crossing Stories: The Role of EU Funds in Supporting Visual Arts and Cinema at the Veneto Region venue at the Hotel Excelsior, during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival – Biennale Cinema 2025.
The conference focused on the role of audiovisual language as a tool for dialogue, creativity and the promotion of regional heritage, with the support of European Union funds and programmes.
The initiative brought together professionals, institutions and young talents to explore how European cooperation can foster innovation in the visual arts and cinema sector.
The event, moderated by Ivana Lazic from the Interact Programme, opened with remarks from Silvia Comiati, Head of the Managing Authority of Interreg Italy–Croatia Programme. The institutional session featured interventions by Stella Arneri, Director at the Croatian Ministry for Regional Development and EU Funds, and Santo Romano, Director of Economic Policies, Human Capital and EU Programming Area, Veneto Region. Both highlighted the value of European funds in supporting innovative cross-border projects in the cultural and creative sectors.
Ms Arneri underlined that “Interreg can provide space to experiment with new ways of using cinema, audiovisual tools and storytelling to connect communities and communicate European cooperation. ERDF and ESF+ programmes can then broaden and integrate these approaches within wider national or regional development strategies.” Similarly, Mr Romano emphasised that “Interreg is the ideal framework for piloting cross-border initiatives and innovative cooperation models between creative actors and territories. ERDF and ESF+ can consolidate and expand these experiences by embedding them into regional policies.”
The second part of the event, Frames of Cooperation, presented testimonies and project stories related to storytelling, visual identity, cultural heritage and immersive communication. Examples included REEL (Interreg Italy–Croatia), FRAME (Interreg IPA South Adriatic Programme 2021–2027), NAWAMED (ENI CBC MED 2014–2020), and Mar de Molada (ERDF 2021–2027, Veneto Film Commission).
Young participants then took centre stage during Young Voices for Europe. Agnese De Ambrosi and Elisa Cacco (Interreg Italy–Croatia) engaged in dialogue with emerging directors Dan Pauletta and Sofia Calderone. Their reflections highlighted how European projects offer young people opportunities to express creativity, share local stories and give visibility to lesser-known territories. The session concluded with the screening of Ms Calderone’s short film, a moving example of cross-border cinema.
The event, which counted over 50 participants, closed with an open discussion with the audience on how to further promote creativity in EU-funded audiovisual projects. The same question was also shared on the Interreg Italy–Croatia Instagram profile for 24 hours, inviting citizens to contribute their ideas.
Videos from the event are available in the link box. Stay tuned for our upcoming highlight video.
