Coming on the heels of a study that reported 45-55% of Italians are unfaithful to their partners, it seems fitting that a film about marital infidelity opened the 5th Annual Rome Film Festival. Yet, the festival’s opening debut of the film “Last Night” was met with hundreds of protestors.
It was not, however, the theme of amorous betrayal that stirred up the crowd of directors, actors and Italian movie industry workers. Instead, demonstrators stole to the show in order to draw attention to government cuts in cultural funding.
Sandro Bondi, Italy’s Culture Minister declared that the protests were “unjustified,” but the stunt was certainly effective in generating attention. The demonstration forced the stars of “Last Night” to cancel their red carpet appearances.
The Rome Film Festival runs through November 5th and is expected to draw up to 600,000 attendees. It was unclear if protests would continue and how they might affect the event’s international reputation.
