Focus London 2025, interview with Andrea Rocco, Director of the Sardegna Film Commission

At Focus London 2025, Fred Film Radio spoke with Andrea Rocco, Director of the Sardegna Film Commission, about stepping into the role, selling Sardinia as a filming destination, and how the region is investing in long-term, sustainable growth.

A New Role with a Clear Mission

Rocco spoke about recently taking up the role of Director of the Sardegna Film Commission, returning to Focus London after having followed the event for many years in a previous position. He described the core role of a film commission as attracting productions to generate visibility and economic and touristic return, while increasingly focusing on building a healthy and sustainable local film industry. For Sardinia, he explained, this balance between visibility and long-term development is especially important.

Why Sardinia Works — Even If It’s an Island

Addressing the fact that Sardinia is an island, Rocco acknowledged that productions can initially see this as a complication, before quickly realising the advantages. He highlighted the region’s remarkable variety of locations — from beaches and lakes to mountains, cultural sites and landscapes — all within a single territory. He also pointed to strong financial incentives, support with transport costs, and a growing, high-quality local crew base, meaning productions don’t need to bring everyone with them. The result, he said, is a region that looks complex on paper but works very smoothly in practice.

From “Star Wars” to Training the Next Generation

Reflecting on recent highlights, Rocco noted that just two weeks after starting the job, Sardinia hosted a major “Star Wars” feature film, set for release in 2027 — a moment he described as a dream scenario for any film commission. He also referenced earlier projects, including “The Irish Affair”, alongside a growing number of locally produced feature films now travelling beyond Sardinia to wider Italian and international audiences. Rocco highlighted training as a key priority, pointing to an animation programme that has already trained around 100 young people, as well as Sardinia’s early leadership in green filming, with incentives rewarding productions that follow sustainable protocols. Looking ahead, he said his ambition is to attract more long-running TV series, seeing them as essential for building skills, experience and a stable local industry over time.