Fronte del Pubblico

A Union of Screens

Around the region, a collection of cinemas has come together to form a circuit for films, freed from the obligations of commercial distribution. This is Fronte del Pubblico (alliance for the audience), a project launched by the Region of Emilia-Romagna in 2003 and coordinated by the Bologna Cineteca, with the aim of creating a regional network for the promotion of film culture.

Projections From Yesterday and Today

Promotion, organization and circulation: these are the driving forces behind Fronte del Pubblico, which over the years has been working to organize around the region a series of screenings representing important moments in history of cinema or specific developments in contemporary film. The films are often selected from the Bologna Cineteca's extensive collection, or arrive from its network of international relationships.

A Guarantee of Quality in the Cinema

Extreme care in the use and conservation of materials. Complete respect for the projection formats. Original-language copies, accompanied if necessary by Italian subtitles projected on a proper screen. Correct masking systems for each film's aspect ratio. Projectors with variable speeds so silent films can be shown at the correct pace, accompanied by live music. Cinemas participating in Fronte del Pubblico must adhere to a basic list of quality standards, guaranteeing the best possible experience for the audience.

 The citizen-filmgoer (recipient, beneficiary, consumer) is one of the great protagonists of our time, but in the majority of cases is treated by the mass-media system as a commodity, a unit of measurement, part of the market mechanism. Their distinctive trait is passiveness and ignorance. They are the end point of an infinite and indiscriminate flow of messages of every kind, the target of a saturation bombing of induced needs and values. An object. A number.

The crisis in mass media concerns compatibility and sustainability just like the environmental crisis. The system cannot manage to take responsibility for them, causing serious problems in the production processes of the collective imagination and consequent styles of life, and the progressive general degradation of our community's cultural heritage.

It seems unlikely that there will be a radical inversion in the trend any time soon. But still we believe it is possible and useful to continue identifying alternative experiences, emergency exits and protected areas. Here we can start weaving a new web of diversity, particularity and awareness, out of places of excellence, experimental experiences which can represent a reference point for the future and workshops where we can try out new and different means of using (and producing) audiovisual media.