Rome Film Festival: A Waste of Public and Private Money

Only in Rome, the city of Dolce Vita and Great Beauty, one might think that for 19 years, that is, since the Rome Film Fest was founded, every time the event closes its doors, the same question circulates, hushed because it's too uncomfortable: What's the point? And again: Does it have any meaning?

Concerns about a small and large waste, marked by the most blatant cultural provincialism, stem from the very beginning of this masterpiece of the Useless. An idea hatched in the mind of a few local administrators with intellectual and artistic ambitions, and deeply confused, where the role of mayor is indistinguishable from that of an event organizer. After 19 years, the Rome Film Fest continues to lose money, for no logical reason, and without anyone having the courage to take responsibility for closing down the mini-fairground of the Festa de' Noantri.

The budget is around €8,5 million. There are the usual sponsors of the "Rome system," those who can't say no when it comes to digging into their pockets, like the Italian Railways and the Rome Airports company. And those who, little by little, are trying to withdraw and minimize the damage, like BNL, now entirely controlled by the French bank Paribas. But most of the Rome Film Fest's funding is public: the Ministry, the Region, the Municipality, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Without an identity, a profile, or a purpose, the Rome Film Fest turns into a narcissistic parade of industry figures, with virtually nonexistent results. The newly appointed president of the Foundation that oversees the event, Salvo Nastasi, with a healthy dose of typically Roman self-satisfaction, exults over the 100-plus attendance. It's a shame that 20 are free tickets (Rome is still the capital of "France and Spain as long as you eat"), and 5 are accreditations. Furthermore, why shouldn't people participate in a fun and affordable local fair? Another point of self-satisfaction: there are Hollywood stars. It's a shame they're never in short supply: offer an American star a top-class plane ticket, including for their family, and a few nights in a five-star hotel on Italian soil, and rest assured they'll never say "no, thank you." Roman holidays are always a welcome treat. star system Hollywood.

Finally, the Rome Film Fest should be closed and completely redesigned to provide something beneficial to the film and fiction production chain, for one fundamental reason: we are not a country that can afford two Film Festivals, Venice and Rome, within a few weeks of each other. This is foolish and self-destructive competition, and Venice has a history and a brand that no one will ever surpass at the national level. Moreover, nowhere in the world, starting with France, where the film industry is well protected and funded, does anyone dream of holding two competing Festivals within the same geographical area. And on the ruins of this ill-fated event, poorly founded and grown even worse, which will sadly continue to survive on its own, only a petty power play from Roman palaces is being developed to distribute a few seats in the cultural sector. But this has nothing to do with cinema, its protagonists, and its audience.

The funds from the Rome Film Fest, instead of being squandered on a local festival, could be used to support two segments of the fiction film industry: young authors, and cinemas, which are visibly closing, leaving entire neighborhoods of the capital without screens for the public. And cinemas could instead be subsidized and supported, as is happening in Paris, where, not surprisingly, money isn't wasted on pointless festivals, but new movie theaters are opening instead.

Cover image source: Fondazione Cinema per Roma/Press kit

Rome Film Festival: How to Waste Public and Private Money

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