The cinema and multimedia sector is considered to be of strategic value in the development of the territory of Bologna. The metropolitan area has strong historical identity and traditions in the sector, and actors and other sector operators living and working in the area display high degrees of creative talent. The sector has a number of selling points, such as the wealth of film productionswhich have been made in Bologna since the end of the Second War by the likes of Pierpaolo Pasolini, Pupi Avati, Federico Fellini, Giulio Chiesa, Gabriele Salvatores, Michele Placido, Renzo Renzi and Bertolucci. Bologna is also characterised by the strong propensity of its population to consume culture. Recent research shows that 60% of citizens in the Bolognese metropolitan area consider themselves to be a “cultural consumer who is alive to and participating in the diverse cultural sub-groupings”. Even local institutions in Bologna make use of multimedia products and services.
The Cineteca di Bologna (the film archive) is internationally renowned for archiving, restoring and preserving film. The recent painstaking restoration of 11 short subject and feature film masterpieces, as well as 25 Charlie Chaplin comedies, led the Chaplin family to select Bologna for a special donation of material to be preserved, restored and shown, and in which to rediscover the artist’s creative genius. The role of the Cineteca plays a vital role in the development of local business, thanks to the management and scheduling of 4 film theatres, its nationwide and international contact-making capability and the creation and promotion of internationally important festivals.
Bologna also offers Italy’s first and foremost undergraduate course in Art, Music and Entertainment Studies (DAMS), the Ermanno Olmi film school, an advanced training programme for screen writers and 15 courses covering the sector’s intermediate professions.
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