Catania, 26 February 2025 — Catania is set to become a film production hub thanks to the C-Fabit project of the Academy of Fine Arts (Abact) — funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the EU under the PNRR — which will see the realisation, by the end of 2025, of an original TV series shot entirely in Catania and post-produced in Naples, through its Academy (Abana).
The project, developed by Abact — chaired by Lina Scalisi and directed by Gianni Latino — draws on Catania’ s historic passion for the “ seventh art” and its most dynamic entrepreneurial spirit. A passion that, at the dawn of the twentieth century and the birth of cinema, saw the city at the foot of Etna establish itself internationally as one of the capitals of the youngest of the visual arts. Numerous production companies operated there at the time — including “ Etna Film” in the Cibali district, considered a sort of Sicilian Cinecittà — and dozens of films were shot in Catania. Among them, in 1914, the epic “ Cabiria” , the most ambitious silent film of its time (4 hours of film and over 4,000 metres of footage), with a screenplay by D’ Annunzio and direction by Giovanni Pastrone. A record the city underlines and reclaims also through the presence of the Museum of Cinema, built at the Ciminiere in 2003 and designed by architect and set designer François Confino, creator of the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.
Drafted by the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania (lead institution) and conceived in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples — the two largest state academies in southern Italy and among the first to establish new cinema courses from 2020– 21 — the C-Fabit project can count on funding of over 5.2 million euros (5,248,478.40 euros).
The scientific director and author of the entire project is Gianpiero Vincenzo, lecturer in Sociological Disciplines at Abact; while at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples (Abana) the lead is Luigi Barletta, lecturer in Audiovisual Languages and Techniques. Negotiations are currently underway for the acquisition of the rights to an internationally acclaimed literary work, while by March Abact will publish the tender for the acquisition of film studios, reviewing all available opportunities in the city. C-Fabit stands for Cinematic Futures: Bridging Art, Technology and Interdisciplinary Training.
The project’ s objective is to make Catania, together with Naples, a reference point in the field of cinema — particularly in education and training — allowing students from both academies to combine theory and practice and develop hands-on skills across the professional roles connected to the world of film. The Catania Academy’ s studios will also serve as a logistical and strategic support for audiovisual production companies and Film Commissions that increasingly choose Sicily as a preferred location for films, TV series, historical and scientific documentaries, and commercials.
“ Our aim is to create between Catania and Naples,” explains Gianpiero Vincenzo (Abact), “ an Italian hub in the field of contemporary cinema and audiovisual production, today deeply shaped by digital culture. While offering students a genuine alternative to Rome’ s long-standing centrality as the national centre of film training and production. A path that also aims to strengthen the training of professional figures in the crafts of cinema: from costume to set design, from on-set photography to digital technology.” From Naples, his colleague Luigi Barletta (Abana) emphasises that the PNRR project represents “ a unique opportunity for our institutions, which will be able to engage in dialogue on audiovisual languages from a transmedia perspective and establish technologically advanced environments. Through the implementation of the C-Fabit project, we intend to leave a tangible mark for the students of today and tomorrow.”
Project C-FABIT/PNRR | Press Release no. 1_2025
