05/12/2006

"2007 will be the year in which Parliament will begin and, I trust, conclude the process of approval of a new film law; a law this art form, which is also a cultural industry, needs,” assured Minister of Culture Francesco Rutelli last Friday, speaking on the commitment the new government has made to drafting a new law and film support system.

"Despite the restrictions of the Finance Law, we will uphold our commitment, so that the FUS (Visual Arts Fund) budget returns to its inalienable level for this industry," said the Minister during the Presidential De Sica Awards ceremony.

For Rutelli, "Private and commercial investors, with increasing freedom and responsibility, must be able to invest more and the state must render the laws more streamlined and the incentives more efficient as well as assure certain resources".

Minister Rutelli concluded saying that "Italian cinema is returning to its heights: it is the duty of the public institutions to consolidate this trend".

(Translated from Italian)