Prada Foundation supports indie cinema with 1.5 million fund

In recent years, Fondazione Prada has opened its doors to cinema, and it has done so with remarkable success. It all began with its Cinema Godard, cycles of screenings featuring art-house films or cult movies from the past, which attract crowds of enthusiasts of all ages to the Foundation’s spaces and place the brand that names the institution in open dialogue with the local community. And likely due to this success, the Foundation has decided to further strengthen its connection with the world of cinema through the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, an annual fund with a total value of 1.5 million euros dedicated to supporting independent cinema. The initiative will be officially launched in the fall of 2025 with an international call aimed at directors and producers from around the world. Designed to encourage the creation of works with a strong artistic and cultural impact, the Fund aims to support films in all stages of development – from writing to production to post-production – without imposing geographic barriers or restrictions on cinematic genre. Each year, a jury composed of industry experts will select between ten and twelve projects, based solely on criteria of originality, narrative quality, and aesthetic vision. The Prada family is no stranger to such initiatives; just think of the long-running Miu Miu Women’s Tales, which every year sees female directors from around the world create short films presented at major international film festivals.

According to Miuccia Prada, President and Director of the Foundation, this initiative reflects a vision of cinema as “a laboratory of ideas and a fundamental cultural tool.” Leading the development of the Fund is Paolo Moretti, a prominent figure in the international film landscape, former director of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival and currently curator of the Cinema Godard program at Fondazione Prada. Working alongside him is Rebecca De Pas, an expert in international co-productions and former consultant for major European festivals such as the Viennale and the Rotterdam Film Festival. The Fondazione Prada Film Fund was established with the intention of offering a flexible, transparent, and inclusive support model, capable of enhancing both established authors and emerging voices. Special attention will be given to research and experimental projects, with the goal of promoting a plurality of languages and artistic visions that reflect the complexity of contemporary cinema. All these activities will be carried out with full editorial independence and through a rigorous selection process, built in synergy with a network of internationally recognized professionals: producers, curators, critics, and visual content creators. This dialogical and multidisciplinary approach is perfectly aligned with the cultural mission of Fondazione Prada, which has always aimed to build bridges between art, cinema, architecture, philosophy, and new media.