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Association of the Italian Translators for Cinema and TV |
Permanent appeal to the authors and actors
The world of cinematography has never liked the idea of dubbing, this phenomenon occours mainly in Europe (as in the USA it is almost unheard of) where the sense of national identity and culture is very strongly felt. And yet dubbing is widely used or, to be more precise, exploited, albeit unwillingly.
The long and pointless arguments on whether subtitles are more appropriate or less accurate then dubbing are yet to provide a solution to the problem. In all honesty, the real problem is business (and more specifically the extent to which the film appeal world-wide). Cinematography originates and travels as a form of merchanday to be distribuited on a large scale. The extremely complicated interactions between the industry of telecommunicatios, the production of special effects and the production and the distribution of the film itself do not allow the original message of the author to reach the viewer in its integrity. The artistic content of the film is sacrified to the materialistic interests of those who translate it and whose main aim is to boost their sales. The art of dubbing is not just a sequence of litterally translated words but it involves the rewriting of the whole text, adapting it to the culture of the people you are translating for. In the materialistic industry of today the art of dubbing is seen as too slow and, dare I say it too expensive to produce and is therefore sistematically stripped of all its artistic value.
The art of dubbing is rapidly dying and I suspect that many people, many whom critics, rejoyce of this thought. However, the tragic consequence of this "decadence" is that the concept of cinema as a work of art first and only then as a product, is dying with it.
An author can only protect the integrity of his work from misunderstandings and adulterations by selecting the qualified authors technicians who will be responsable for translating, adapting and dubbing the dialogues. One of the problems faced by the authors is, in fact, the unprofessionality of many of the workers in this sector.
The members of the Aidac ask for the active support of the authors and interpreters in order to respect for and recognition of their creativity and their artistic skills. All this is to be achieved respecting the legal requirements, described in the contract of employments, the author's rights and a series of legal rules and international agreements. These rules are to be discussed and agreed together with the World Union of Authors, Aidaa and Artists Rights Foundation, whose help and intervention they solicit.
A.I.D.A.C.
Via Asiago, 8
00195 - Rome (ITALY)
Tel.: +39-6-3203902
Fax: +39-6-37351400