Italy's Anica, the National Association of Multimedia Film and Audiovisual Industries, has asked the country's Minister of Cultural Heritage for special inclusion within the Bonisoli Decree - the so-called "exemptions decree" – so as to ensure that films unable to be released in cinemas due to the Coronavirus crisis aren’t penalised. As it stands, in order to access the benefits of the Franceschini Law - tax credit and automatic and selective finance – films must already have been released in cinemas (read our article). The industry is requesting this exemption purely to cover the period during which cinemas are forcibly closed as a result of the crisis.

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Specifically, the letter addressed to Minister Dario Franceschini consists of a request for a partial derogation from article 2 of MiBACT’s Ministerial Decree n. 303 of 14 July 2017, and all subsequent amendments thereof, which governs access to aid for Italian films. The request was signed by Luigi Lonigro, president of ANICA’s distributors’ grouping; Francesca Cima, president of ANICA’s producers’ section, and Mario Lorini, president of ANEC - Italy’s National Association of Cinema Operators.

For ANICA president Francesco Rutelli, the request signed by representatives of the audiovisual industry "was born out of a responsible and well-balanced comparison, which is particularly understandable at such a difficult time for the country, and for the film and audiovisual sector in particular, which has been seriously impacted by the restrictions put in place for the sake of public health".