Audio description in Italy: an anecdote or a social integration policy?

The EC has issued many directives to promote social inclusion and media accessibility. In turn, countries within the EU are implementing media access services at different rates, speeds and styles. What may start in one country as a media access anecdote may develop into a service which aims at improving media accessibility for all. Media accessibility tends to begin as an isolated event, such as the Cooperativa Sociale Scurelle, Cinema senza Barriere or Museo del Cinema in Torino events in Italy, but once the trend is underway, and the audience is aware of its availability, then a standard quality service should be established. This is the objective of this article. The first part aims to provide an overview of Media Access in Europe, paying special attention to Italy, where media access is not widely available. While even minimally accessible cultural content could mean maximum diffusion, the opposite is the case in Italy: very few movies are accessible, or duplicated. Media access duplication is a widespread trans-European scenario. The second part of the article examines the different approaches to audio description of the same film in Italy. The results go to show that, rather than opting for an access trend of isolated anecdotes, a widespread quality access content should be encouraged, taking into consideration the many and wide-ranging technical exploitation channels and formats.