Experimental Center of Cinematography, the center right gets its hands on the top management

The mobilization of leading directors such as Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Sorrentino and Mario Martone was not enough. The center-right majority gets their hands on the top management of the Experimental Cinematography Center in Rome.
After a postponement (which had led to hopes of a second thought), the amendment to the Public Administration decree which imposes political appointments for the Scientific Committee of the CSC was approved this morning: the president and three of the members will be chosen by the Ministry of Culture, one member each will be assigned, respectively, to the Ministry of Education, the Economy and that of the University. The dicastery led by minister Anna Maria Bernini was added in the latest rewrite of the law.

Yesterday evening the amendment to the decree had been “set aside”, then postponed until the end of the exam. The postponement had been welcomed with satisfaction by the Democratic Party, which had also announced a press conference for today by the secretary Elly Schlein with the students of the Center.

The situation reversed in the morning: the majority imposed an acceleration on the Constitutional Affairs and Labor commissions and approved the amendment that will lead to the zeroing of the current leaders.

The news came before Schlein’s press conference had begun. The boys from the Center present decided not to participate, disappointed: “Our presence here no longer makes sense, they have already voted”, commented Francesco Luciani, a student of the CSC.

«Not only do we see a thirst for power and places, but a design is added which is that of control over the places of images and imaginaries that we cannot accept – said Elly Schlein – The reason why we are in support of this battle carried out with courage is so that the message is hands off cinema and places of culture».

“With this text, as with INPS and Inail, the commissioner is commissioned, the leaders are beheaded and the Scientific Committee is placed under protection, something never seen before 1945”, added Arturo Scotto, Pd group leader in the Labor commission in the Chamber.

Simona Bonafè, dem group leader in the Constitutional Affairs commission addressed the majority and the government: «There is room for a rethink before the decree arrives in the courtroom, we appeal to the government and Sangiuliano to ask the government to change the choice in the courtroom. It will find a collaborative opposition, the important thing is the defense of the autonomy and freedom of Italian culture».

The Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, encountered by reporters in the Montecitorio area, did not answer questions about the Experimental Center of Cinematography, ignoring the sit-in students of the institute.