Prada Foundation Launches Film Fund Managed by Former Directors’ Fortnight Chief Paolo Moretti (EXCLUSIVE)

The well-known Italian fashion brand, Prada, is stepping into the world of film production. They are establishing the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, which aims to support independent cinema. This new fund will be jointly managed by Paolo Moretti, who was previously in charge at Directors’ Fortnight, and Rebecca De Pas, a film programmer.

A new Prada film fund, initially seeded with €1.5 million ($1.6 million), is set to aid approximately 10-12 feature films annually without any limitations based on location or genre. This initiative will debut during the Venice Film Festival by inviting submissions through an application process.

Miuccia Prada, who owns an Italian luxury group and heads Fondazione Prada, a cultural institution she founded with her husband Patrizio Bertelli in 1993, stated that cinema serves as both an incubator for fresh concepts and a platform for cultural learning. Consequently, she intends to proactively support the creation of new projects and the promotion of auteur cinema.

The Fondazione has been exploring these languages for more than 20 years, doing so in various methods, all while promoting a dynamic, rigorous, and visionary concept of cinema. Our goal with this fund is to further engage and expand our conversation with creativity and current innovation.

Projects backed by Prada will be selected solely on the basis of factors like quality, creativity, and vision. The goal is to significantly aid in key stages such as development, production, and post-production of the film. (Fondazione Prada’s statement)

Moretti communicated to EbMaster that the Prada fund would focus on movies that strive to discover innovative storytelling methods and tackle fresh challenges. He highlighted that productions attempting to portray the world in a unique, modern manner frequently encounter difficulties securing financing and trust from systems that are typically inclined towards conservatism.

Contrary to the Miu Miu Women’s Tales series, which is an essential part of the Venice Days section at Venice and showcases films inspired by Miu Miu clothing and accessories, the Prada Film Fund projects will not be associated with the fashion brand in any way.

Moretti stated that we won’t require any individual to don Prada in the movies we’re producing, emphasizing that there will be absolutely no artistic limitations whatsoever. He also mentioned that our funding is accessible to filmmakers regardless of their career stage.

The aim is to provide a range of films that are both wide and inclusive, much like one might find at a festival. Moretti noted this. Just as works chosen by other artistic funds, the chosen projects will carry a Fondazione Prada Film Fund seal, symbolizing their quality.

The Fondazione Prada, situated in an arts center in Milan with a bar crafted by Wes Anderson, has been quite involved in the world of cinema for some time. Lately, it played host to a significant display featuring storyboards contributed by over 50 renowned filmmakers and animators such as Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, Federico Fellini, Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Under the leadership of Moretti, the Cinema Godard movie theater has increased its film screenings and panel discussions with renowned directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Xavier Dolan, Luca Guadagnino, Werner Herzog, Jia Zhangke, and Rebecca Zlotowski. These are just a few examples of the distinguished names involved in these events.

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2025-05-14 07:55