05/09/2006

For the Italian government, committing to the Venice Film Festival is a benefit to the country. Such was the statement made by Romano Prodi, Italy's Prime Minister, during a short visit to the Lido last night. br>
"The Venice Film Festival," said Prodi to journalists, "is one of the biggest cultural events in the country. Even if only briefly, I still wanted to be absolutely present, mostly to stress the government’s commitment to the modernisation of and potential investments in [the festival] that will be necessary to help it maintain its strength and significance". Before waving goodbye to the audience, to return to Rome, Prodi made a comment less as a politician than as a lover of film: "This is a good moment for European cinema".

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Biennale President Davide Croff, who has at Prodi's side at the Palazzo del Cinema, thanked the Prime minister for coming: "I’m grateful to him. In life, even signs matter and what he said in terms of commitment is an important sign. The meeting with Prodi was essential for two reasons: it was a tangible recognition of the importance of the Biennale for our country and it confirmed Minister Rutelli's announcement regarding the creation of a Palazzo del Cinema and the renovation of the festival's infrastructure. This is not only for the festival, because this space has to be used throughout the year even for other events”.

At mid-festival, Croff also made a positive observation: "I’ve never seen this many people in the cinemas”..

(Translated from Italian)