The “
restart
” effect promised by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is long overdue in cinemas.
Both the number of spectators and receipts remain at their lowest despite the resumption of activity observed in neighboring countries.
During a meeting in Rome on Friday, presidents of associations, actors and film producers expressed their concerns by listing the difficulties specific to their sector.
Read alsoNetflix in cinemas: the great fear
"
It is no longer possible to circumvent the problem
", proclaims Mario Lorini in the columns of the magazine
Fortune Italia
, the president of the association of cinema operators (Anec).
"
We are the only ones in Europe to have 2021 box office receipts lower than 2020, a loss estimated at 70% since 2019
", he explains, attributing this disastrous percentage to the closure of many cinemas. cinema since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read alsoFor the reopening of cinemas, Italy requires the release of subsidized Italian films
After the lifting of health restrictions in many European countries, the public has gradually returned to dark rooms, but Italy remains the exception.
"
Our cinemas are empty, or worse, closed
," he laments.
Data from Cinetel, which monitors the Italian market, shows that up to 500 screens are missing out of the approximately 3600 we have, which refers to 1300 structures.
There is an urgent need for support initiatives because it is not known if they will ever reopen.
»
Read alsoCinema: can platforms supplant dark rooms?
For Mario Lorini, the problem lies above all in the organization of “
cinema windows
”, in other words the delay between the release of a film in theaters and its distribution on streaming platforms.
“
We need a law to regulate this system.
Because today, a film released in theaters only stays there for four weeks and then is immediately available on the platforms.
The professionals of the seventh art therefore call on the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, to extend this period and to draw inspiration from neighboring countries, in particular the United Kingdom, Spain and France.
Read alsoThe anger of cinema managers against the release of films directly in streaming
"
We are looking at the French model
", explains Luigi Lonigro to the newspaper
Il Denaro
, the president of the Union of Italian film publishers and distributors.
In France, "
the period is set between 90 and 120 days
" before a film goes from the room to streaming.
In Italy it is sometimes thirty days.
"Everyone does what he wants.
Without law, the industry is deregulated and cinema loses its value.
A value that is both industrial and socio-cultural
”.
Read alsoThe cinema engages in a standoff with the platforms
For film professionals, the big loser remains the public, which is so far "
disoriented
", according to Mario Lorini.
“He no longer has an interest in leaving his house, finding a parking space and buying a ticket, when he will soon find the title on streaming platforms from his couch.
Spending to go to the cinema in one afternoon, if you think of the whole family, is equivalent to three or four months of streaming subscription
, ”he explains.
To make the rooms attractive again, the president of the association is asking for the establishment of a discount system for underage spectators.
He also plans to set up a campaign to raise awareness of the seventh art and the organization of a film festival planned for the spring.
Read alsoEurope flies to the aid of the Roman studios of Cinecittà
Of the 353 theatrical releases in 2021, some 150 were Italian productions.
The rest comes mainly from American studios and, to a lesser extent, from European and Asian cinema, according to the Italian newspaper
Opinione Delle Liberta
.
“
The overall box office market share of our films is 20%
,” according to Mario Lorini.
And again: five Italian productions are really doing well, including
È stato la mano di Dio
(
The Hand of God
).
Paolo Sorrentino's latest achievement, hailed by international critics, was only shown three weeks before landing on the Netflix platform.
Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, in the running for the Oscars, the film is a tribute to eternal Italian cinema.
And not his epitaph.
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