31/08/2006

One hundred films that make up the history of Italian cinema, to transform into monuments of "cultural heritage" and, as such, accessible as many as possible. One hundred titles, such as the first films by Roberto Rossellini, Mario Soldati and Luchino Visconti, three masters of a glorious cinema that should be preserved.

With this intention, Venice Days, a parallel section of the Venice Film Festival, yesterday launched a new initiative entitled "100 + 1 (100 Films and 1 Country. Italy)".

Fabio Ferzetti, delegate of Venice Days, spoke just before the screening of Rome, Open City: "For 30 years, from the end of WWII to the 1970s, Italian cinema was capable of expressing what was happening and to foresee what was about to happen, and played a leading role in our culture. Those films could today contribute to creating the conscience of young people, they could help the children of foreign immigrants to become citizens".

Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, Sofia Loren and perhaps even Don Camillo and Peppone, transformed into a "cultural heritage", a patrimony for all, especially the schools, which could present them on DVD without spending a fortune on rights. The initiative was immediately embraced by numerous institutions, including the Biennale and the National Film Archives, ARCI and the Cineteca of Bologna, Agiscuola and RAI Sat, and the members of both the critics' and journalists' unions.

(Translated from Italian)