Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has signed a decree pledging 40 million euros to cinemas. This is the latest in a series of provisions aimed at supporting the film sector during the pandemic, which brings the total sum of extraordinary resources allocated so far upwards of 275 million euros.

“The film and audiovisual sector is this country’s main creative industry”, the Minister remarked. “For this reason, from the very beginning of the pandemic, the government has supported the entire sector, from production to distribution, right on through to movie theatres, and it is continuing to do so by way of this provision, which is aimed at supporting the re-opening of cinemas”.

25 million euros will go towards compensating lost box-office takings in the period running 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021 compared to the same period in the previous year; 5 million euros will be shared between the beneficiaries in line with their 2020 cinema rental expenses; 5 million euros will be divided equally between cinemas which have held at least three days of screenings per week in the period between 26 April 2021 and the date of the present decree, while 5 million euros will be shared between cinemas which will have held at least three days of screenings per week in the period running 1 June 2021 to 31 July 2021. Cinema operators who are legally headquartered in Italy, who have screened at least 20 films between 1 January 2020 and 7 March 2020 and who are up to date with their social security payments are entitled to submit applications for aid.

In 2020, the Film and Audiovisual Fund saw its resources increased to 510 million euros. 125 million euros were allocated to the Emergency Film and Audiovisual Fund. The revival of the Istituto Luce Cinecittà Spa is also now underway, thanks to investments for the expansion and modernisation of the institute’s studios: in addition to the 35 million already committed in 2020, the PNRR – National Plan of Recovery and Resilience – has pledged a further 300 million euros to the project, which also foresees an upgrading of Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and National Film Library. The support measures set out in the decree also provide for a further 120 million euros for film and a new welfare system for those working within the sector.