Italian cinema under the lens of experts
Where is Italian cinema going? This was the question that actors, directors, producers and communications experts tried to answer during the conference-symposium held yesterday at Rome’s La Sapienza University.
The analysis looked at state of a film industry that exists in the “contamination” between the big screen and television and must recognise the responsibilities of filmmakers and producers without overloooking the impact of the diffusion of the Internet on film watching.
“Admissions grew in 2007,” said Severino Salvemini, a professor of business organisation, “marking promising success for Italian cinema, which achieved over 32% of the domestic market”. Yet problems remain.
“We must ask ourselves,” added Mikado CEO Alessandro Usai, “why films such as The Secret of the Grain [+see also:
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film profile], cost distributors thirty times less than an Italian arthouse film that furthermore does not even guarantee the same good results. Quality Italian films are more successful abroad than here, where commercial product is awarded”.
The blame, however, does not lie solely with filmgoers. Said Riccardo Tozzi of Cattleya: “I believe that our arthouse films do not make an adequate effort to speak to young people. Unfortunately, there are still no Italian Junos and Into the Wilds”.
(Translated from Italian)
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