Ex-occupiers move in next door

The former occupants of Cinema America Occupato, evicted by police on 3 September, have moved into a disused bakery next door to the cinema building on Via Natale del Grande in Trastevere.

This time however they are not "occupying" the empty premises which has been given to them on loan, without having to pay rent.

The building will be managed by the newly-christened Piccolo Cinema America, an association comprising ex-occupants of the cinema building next door as well as artists, actors and "i Trasteverini."

The group promises a "free, open and participatory space" and says that it will build a new cinema and rooms for screenings, initiatives and debates. The association has appealed to Rome residents to help the project in any way they can, from donating building materials to technical equipment.

Once established they will announce their programme of events but say their first screening will be The Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont.

The owners of the 1950s-era Cinema America building want to develop the property into 20 mini-apartments.

Photo Corriere della Sera