Italian actors protest cuts in arts funding

Oscar winner Roberto Benigni led Italian actors, artists and directors Friday in a protest against the government’s plan to cut state funding of the arts by 35%.

“To cut dreams is difficult, but they have managed to do it,” Benigni, the actor and director whose poignant Holocaust film “Life Is Beautiful” won an Oscar for best foreign film in 1998, told a crowd of Italy’s most famous stage and screen artists.

Their assembly in Rome coincided with a daylong national strike by arts workers that shut down theaters, cinemas and movie production.

Italy’s draft 2006 budget, approved by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s cabinet last month, will reduce arts funding by $192 million as part of broader cuts of nearly $14 billion.

The cuts will affect the performing arts across the board -- from circuses and feature film production to performances at Milan’s La Scala opera. Some say they could even force the cancellation of the Venice Film Festival.

From Reuters