‘Not just film shoots, Indian celeb weddings have also led to a spike in tourism in Italy’

Recently, the Embassy of Italy organised Italian Screens, a three-day film festival in several Indian metros, to present the best of Italian cinema to the country.

- Niharika Lal

The initiative was part “of a wider project of deepening cultural relations between Italy and India, to ensure a rapprochement with Bollywood and to stimulate meeting opportunities between producers, distributors and creatives of both countries”.

On the sidelines of the event, Roberto Stabile, Head of Special Projects of the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture (DGCA-MiC) at Cinecittà, Italy, spoke about the filmy ties between the two countries, and how desi movies and ads shot in Italy, as well as Indian celebrity weddings there, have not just deepened this relationship but also led to a spike in tourists in the region. Excerpts:

‘CINEMA, ADVERTISEMENTS AND EVEN CELEBRITY WEDDINGS HAVE LED TO RISE IN TOURISTS IN ITALIAN DESTINATIONS’