Crisis in the Cinema Commission, Ginella Vocca also resigns

New resignations and internal tensions within the Commission

The crisis within the Cinema Commission responsible for the allocation of selective funding is worsening. Following the resignations of Paolo Mereghetti and Massimo Galimberti in recent days, Ginella Vocca has also decided to step down. Director and founder of the MedFilm Festival, Vocca announced her decision through a letter addressed to the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli. At the root of her decision, once again, is the controversial rejection of the documentary Giulio Regeni – All the Evil in the World by Simone Manetti, which has generated strong tensions within the commission. Vocca explained that she had firmly opposed the decision, reiterating her position several times both in writing and during official meetings.

“In the letter I reiterated that I had firmly opposed the rejection of the documentary”, she told ANSA, stressing that she had waited for the minister’s intervention in Parliament before formalizing her resignation. An intervention which, she specified, she shares both in form and substance, though it did not change her final decision. Unlike the other resigning members, Vocca was part of the documentary subcommittee, the body that directly ruled on Manetti’s work. Alongside her were Giacomo Ciammaglichella, Pasqualino Damiani, Benedetta Fiorini and Pier Luigi Manieri. The director pointed out that the case of the documentary was not an isolated exception, but one of several moments of debate and disagreement within the group.

The Regeni case and the revision of the rules

Vocca explained that she had initially chosen to remain on the commission out of a sense of responsibility, trying to assert her point of view from within and support projects she deemed worthy. However, as tensions persisted, the situation became unsustainable. “I held on”, she stated, “guided by the thought that putting the Commission into crisis, with the entire Second session still to be examined, would have been a serious and irresponsible act.”

The case of the documentary on Giulio Regeni thus took on symbolic value, becoming the breaking point of an already fragile balance. Minister Giuli, speaking in Montecitorio in recent days, distanced himself from the decision while reiterating the limits of ministerial action. “I do not agree, neither on an ideal nor on a moral level, with the choice”, he said, “but it is not the result of a political decision. The ministry cannot intervene.”

According to the minister, in fact, the autonomy of commissions represents a fundamental guarantee to ensure impartiality in evaluations. He also recalled that the documentary had already been rejected in previous funding applications, both in 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture has announced its intention to intervene in the system by launching a comprehensive review of the rules governing the functioning of the commissions. The aim is to address the critical issues that have emerged in recent days and prevent new situations of deadlock. Among the main points the decree could address:

1. revision of the criteria for appointing commission members
2. greater transparency in decision-making processes
3. redefinition of project evaluation methods
4. strengthening of oversight and guarantee mechanisms

The current crisis comes within a context already marked by recent controversies, also linked to the appointments made in 2024 shortly before the resignation of then-minister Gennaro Sangiuliano. A complex situation that the ministry is now called upon to reorganize, while the film sector awaits concrete answers and clear timelines for the allocation of funding.

Andrea Pelucchi