Over the past few years, the academic community, some international institutions and a good portion of AVT professionals have been focusing their attention on accessibility and the needs of special segments of the audience to a much greater extent. However, standard practices in AVT are still widely neglected, especially in terms of their impact and reception by ‘end users’.
Dubbing and subtitling are nowadays still performed according to a long-established golden rule, which sees invisibility – fluency, unmarkedness, domestication, etc. – as its driving force. In other words, invisibility is required by AV translation companies, sought by translators and expected by viewers.
This is certainly the case for subtitles, which normally become visible only when they sound odd or inadequate. Their visibility then translates into harsh criticism by film buffs, critics and sometimes also academics. Subtitles for film festivals are a case in point: exposed to the direct judgment of a sophisticated, well-informed audience, they have to remain invisible – and skilfully so – otherwise they tend to be sharply criticised in newspapers and magazines. However, regrettably, such invisibility often affects quality as well – even though high quality is achieved as a result of research, multiple revisions, advice from experts in various domains, etc.
In an attempt to shed light on the quality – or lack of quality – which is hidden under ‘invisible’ subtitles for film festivals, the authors of this paper will discuss the results of a project to be carried out during the 2009 edition of the Venice Film Festival. By handing out questionnaires during screenings, we aim to evaluate audience awareness, that is, their perception of quality in subtitling. The results of the questionnaires, separately administered to critics and journalists and to the general public, will be compared. This will be an attempt to gain insight into the perception of two very different audience segments. Our findings could possibly be applied not only to revise working practices but also to enhance the visibility and appreciation of subtitling.

Elena DI GIOVANNI, PhD, is a lecturer in translation at the Department of Linguistic and Literary Research of the University of Macerata (Italy), where she teaches specialised translation as well as audiovisual translation (subtitling). Her research areas include audiovisual translation (subtitling, audio description, etc.), translation for children, and the role of language and translation in intercultural communication. Her recent publications include: Translation, Cultures and the Media (Routledge); Oltre l’Occidente. Traduzione e Alterità Culturale (Bompiani): “Darkness and Light in Subtitling”(John Benjamins); “Translation, non-translation: the American Film Musical in Italy (St Jerome). She also works as a professional translator for the media and publishing industry.