Wednesday,
May 17,
Italian Films Enjoying
Renaissance, with Box Office Booming and Critical Accolades
The industry is still a long way
from its heyday after World War II and lasting until the 1970s, when it was
often a trend-setting business dominated by revolutionary directors like
Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica,
Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
But most observers agree momentum is improving.
Seeds for the rebirth of Italian
films were laid in the late 1990s by a series of new laws backed by
then-Minister of Culture Walter Veltroni (now the
mayor of
Among the changes were rules that
made it easier for new production houses to open and others that required such
TV networks as RAI and Mediaset to increase spending
on films. Those laws, combined with later cutbacks in government backing for
film production, gave the private sector a larger role.
Additionally, several Italian
regions have developed funding programs that encourage directors to locate
parts of their projects in those regions, a process that some say leads to more
ambitious -- and often better-written -- scripts.
On the artistic side, privately
produced films are freer to touch upon controversial topics than those
partially funded by the state.
The current trend will have legs,
as many of the newest generation of directors -- such as Paolo Sorrentino, who along with Moretti
will be flying the Italian flag at
"The talent in
Reuters
By
Eric J. Lyman
According to Italian cinema monitoring company Cinetel,
some 34% of Italian box office receipts have come from local films over the
first four months of this year, compared with 23% for all of 2005 and less than
15% in most years.
Figures have been
buoyed by such commercial successes as Carlo Verdone's
"My Best Enemy," Fausto Brizzi's
"Night Before Finals," Nanni Moretti's "The Caiman," Michele Placido's "Crime Novel," and Cristina Comencini's "Don't Tell" -- all of which have
raked in more than EUR5 million ($6.4 million). "My Best Enemy" heads
the pack, approaching EUR20 million ($25.7 million) in ticket sales.
Italian
television tells a similar tale of local success: Some estimates are that four
out of five films shown during primetime on national networks are Italian,
compared with an estimated one in five or less a decade ago.
Italian
productions are garnering critical acclaim abroad too. Earlier this year
"Don't Tell" was the first Italian film nominated for the
foreign-language Oscar since Roberto Benigni's
"Life Is Beautiful" won seven years earlier.
And films from
"Italian
cinema just seems to have woken up after a long slumber," says Paolo
Ferrari, head of Warner Brothers-Italia and the newly elected president of the
Italian Association of Cinematographic Audiovisual and Multimedia Industries.
"There are a lot of factors in play, but once it gets started, the
newfound quality feeds on itself. It inspires more quality."
The industry is
still a long way from its heyday after World War II and lasting until the
1970s, when it was often a trend-setting business dominated by revolutionary
directors like Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini and Pier
Paolo Pasolini. But most observers agree momentum is
improving.
According to
industry insiders, seeds for the rebirth of Italian films were laid in the late
1990s by a series of new laws backed by then-Minister of Culture Walter Veltroni (now the mayor of
Among the changes
were rules that made it easier for new production houses to open and others
that required such TV networks as RAI and Mediaset to
increase spending on films. Those laws, combined with later cutbacks in
government backing for film production, gave the private sector a larger role.
Additionally,
several Italian regions have developed funding programs that encourage
directors to locate parts of their projects in those regions, a process that
some say leads to more ambitious -- and often better-written -- scripts.
On the artistic
side, privately produced films are freer to touch upon controversial topics
than those partially funded by the state. Moretti's
"The Caiman," which takes jabs at the business career of outgoing
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is only the
latest such project.
"Films
produced under the auspices of the state never have the same creativity,
intelligence and originality that private projects have," Riccardo Tozzi, president of Cattleya
production studios, says.
"It wasn't
too long ago that when Italians would see an Italian film showing they would
avoid it on purpose," Tozzi says. "Now I
think most Italians seek Italian films out."
According to
Massimo Amici, an Italo-Canadian
director and head of Acaluma production studios, the
change in viewership patterns is a key factor.
"It takes time
to (lure audiences back). The quality and variety of Italian films has been
improving for years, but the change is really gathering momentum now because
moviegoers are realising that there is a lot of good
stuff coming out," Amici says.
Most insiders predict
the current trend will have legs, as many of the newest generation of directors
-- such as Paolo Sorrentino, who along with Moretti will be flying the Italian flag at
"Provided
that the laws are not reversed to the way they were before, I think this new
trend will last," Tozzi says. "The talent
in
But some are less
sure, taking a more philosophical view of Italian cinema's recent successes.
"I'm always
cautious when people talk about the rebirth of Italian film because many are
the same people who talked about a crisis in the past," says Claudio Trionfera, director of communications for film distribution
giant Medusa. "Depending on the perspective, Italian films are always in
crisis, always being reborn. There is a strong period going on right now, but
nobody can know the future."
The
ANNOTICO Reports are Archived at:
Italia
Italia
Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com