The initiative was announced during the Professional Days of Cinema of Sorrento, an important annual event that involves over 1500 professionals in the media and entertainment sector, and is being promoted in a collaboration between FAPAV (Federazione per la Tutela delle Industrie dei Contenuti Audiovisivi e Multimediali), ANEC (Associazione Nazionale Esercenti Cinema), ANICA (Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive Digitali) and the MPA (Motion Picture Association Europe), and with the support of Deluxe. The launch was made official during a panel session, “Collaboration, Communication and Timeliness”, moderated by Simone Gialdini, Director General of ANEC.
Coinciding with the announcement is a Web site, “The Cinema Is You” (“Il Cinema Siete Voi.”) “Every person who goes to the cinema becomes an active part of a passionate and supportive community that contributes to the protection of the audiovisual sector. Spectators become the new heroes of the film industry, upholding legality and ensuring the future of the sector,” says the site.
Because more than 90% of the films that come out in the theater are in fact pirated during the screening, the initiative is intended to actively involve the viewer in the theater with the aim of combating the illicit activities of all those who exploit and promote film piracy. “If we do not effectively oppose the illicit dissemination of audiovisual content, the risk is that in the future there will be fewer and fewer films to see,” said Federico Bagnoli Rossi, President of FAPAV.
“Consumer awareness campaigns play an important role in highlighting the impact and consequences on the millions of people working in this industry,” said Stan McCoy, President and Chief Executive Officer of MPA EMEA (the Motion Picture Association). “Piracy continues to pose a serious threat to our global audiovisual community, damaging films and businesses of all sizes and nationalities,” he said.
Francesco Rutelli, President of ANICA, joined the chorus: “We must win a great cultural battle to protect Italian creativity and make it clear that illegally downloading content means harming people and businesses and losing jobs, and running into sanctions.”
Further reading
FAPAV launches ‘The Cinema Is You’ in Sorrento, the first European campaign against camcording. Press release. November 30, 2023. FAPAV (Federation for the Protection of the Audiovisual and Multimedia Content Industries, Italy)
Why it matters
This consumer education and communication project is aimed at the general public, and comes as Italy’s new anti-piracy Law goes into effect, a legislation that, among the various articles, has framed camcording as a crime like other forms of piracy (Art. 171-ter L. 633/1941, Copyright Law). FAPAV promptly responded to the law by carrying out the new anti-camcording campaign.
