On October 10, Italian film and TV production workers protested against the hardships caused by the coronavirus and the lack of government incentives and guidelines that are bringing the sector to its knees.
Some 1,300 below-the-line personnel carried 500 trunks (known in the U.S. as flight cases or hard equipment cases) into the square by the Duomo Cathedral in Milan and staged a musical routine by making in-tune noises by opening and closing the trunks’ lids.
The well staged and synchronized musical performance, dubbed I Bauli in Piazza (or “The Trunks in the Square”), attracted lots attentions from the Italian media, which reported the protesters’ demands for new rules to jumpstart the sector. Their position is that with proper safety procedures, cinemas and theaters do not present health risks.
Indeed, according to a survey by AGIS, the Italian general association for the entertainment sector, of the 347,262 spectators who attended 2,782 entertainment events between June 15 and October 2, 2020, only one case of COVID-19 was recorded.
Indeed, in last week’s Water Cooler, VideoAge documented the safety procedures being implemented at Italian cinemas these days.
Italy’s entertainment sector employs 570,000 people. It sustains 7,527 companies and 122,905 workers in the audiovisual field alone. Other sectors include concerts, sporting events, circuses, etc.
During the pandemic, upwards of 80 percent of workers for general events lost their jobs. The share increases to 90 percent for sporting events. Losses for cinemas alone are estimated at three million euro (U.S.$3.53 million) per week. For theaters, losses up to now amount to 10 million euro (U.S.$11.77 million).
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