Soaps a bane for Italian filmmakers too

Panaji, Nov 30 (IANS) Saans-bahu soaps are not India's bane alone, they are a curse for Italian filmmakers too.

'In the 1960s and 1970s we had many people coming to theatres but now they sit and watch TV. My mother, who used to go to cinemas and watch movies, today sits at home and watches the melodramatic soap opera on TV, which talk about people's affairs etc,' said Italian filmmaker Marco Amento.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Amento blamed TV soaps for the decline footfalls in theatre in Italy.

'We need to make better films, and get audiences back into theatres. The onus is on us,' he said.

Michael Zampino, another filmmaker said, added that dubbed Hollywood films too were weaning away audiences from European films.

'Italian audiences are dying. People come to cinemas only on occasions like Christmas. We don't help the audience come and see the film,' said Zampino.

'There is less money in Europe and US. A lot of films will now have to be done on low budgets. We need to tell human stories on low budgets,' he added.