Films dubbed in Catalan

Regional Catalan government preparing a law so that half of all cinema screenings are dubbed into Catalan or shown with Catalan subtitles

The Culture Department for the Catalan regional government is preparing a law on cinema screenings which will force distributors to show half of all foreign films screened in Catalonia dubbed into Catalan or with Catalan subtitles.

During an interview on TV3 this morning the Catalan minister for Culture and the Media, Joan Manuel Tresserras, said that the Catalan cinema market had not been very successful in the past due to the ‘hegemony that had maintained the same situation that there had been at the end of Franco’s regime’ – a situation which he described as a ‘democratic deficit’ and ‘anomaly of the cultural system’.

He said that he could not ignore the ‘urgent necessity’ in Catalan Culture. He said that the regional government of Catalonia planned to have a draft bill ready by the summer. He also said that the government would encourage original version films with subtitles by taxing films which are dubbed. This tax would be collected by placing an added charge on tickets to see films which are dubbed.