19/06/2003

The annual national congress of Anec, the national Italian theatrical exhibitors’ association, will take place in Rome on Thursday, 3 July.
This meeting will serve to inform this important sector of the film industry and the public of the changes the market is experiencing.
The same day, the Anec theatres that boarded the initiative are scheduled to launch a major promotional campaign whereby the cost of tickets will be cut to just Euros2 for the duration of the scheme.

"The problems experienced by exhibitors are not limited to their professional category alone but have a knock-on effect on the public, " explained Anec president Walter Vacchino. "While we acknowledge that the relationship between the public and distributors are confrontational, we do not want to see them degenerate to a degree of exasperating conflictuality. We also ask that there be sufficient print numbers, and films be released both in the summer and not only at Christmas, and alongside the multi-screens and multiplexes, support the role that local neighbourhood cinemas or ‘local’ cinemas can play. That also means supporting the public’s point of view. We would like to see help for cinemas in difficulty so that they can remain in business and a vital part of the market. That also means that we, together with retailers, local authorities and citizens, must continue the battle to avoid the historic centres of our towns and cities becoming cultural deserts.”

(Translated from Italian)