Brussels, 15/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - At an event held at the European Parliament on 15 April, the European film-makers expressed their incomprehension and concern at the reorganisation of the framework for copyright, which the European Commission is planning to revise in the autumn.
A delegation of film-makers including Belgium's Lucas Belvaux, Costa-Gavras of France, Poland's Dariusz Jablonski and Peter Webber of the United Kingdom was heard by the working group on copyright of the EP, which is chaired by the French ALDE MEP, Jean-Marie Cavada. The Danish film-maker Annette K. Olesen was unable to attend but lent her support to the delegation, which is also backed by the French Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD).
The film-makers reiterated the importance of copyright, both to guarantee fair pay for creators, but also to shore up the funding of the creative industries. “If there is one reason to think carefully before acting, it is economic in nature. But not only that. It is a question of culture and singularity”, said Cavada. Referring to the need to bring copyright into line with digital reality, Cavada said that this should be tackled with “reasonable force, not weapons of mass destruction”.
The film-makers warned the MEPs of the risks of the reform of the framework currently at reflection stage at the Commission and the EP, with the draft report by MEP Julia Reda (Greens/EFA, Germany), the only MEP of the Pirate Party (in favour of a totally free and open Internet), who was given this job, they commented in passing.
These risks include less remuneration for creators, increased fragility of film financing and, with the end of territorial licensing, an increased stranglehold for the Internet giants over the distribution of works, with the risk of Anglo-Saxon cultural hegemony at the expense of the European creative industries. “The big companies will put the same films everywhere. All we will have is mass-market films, a mono-culture for Europe”, the film-maker Costa-Gavras warned. “Yes, the Internet is changing, but don't let monkeys dominate culture!”, said Peter Webber.
The directors and screenwriters have already taken position against the reform, in an open letter by the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) published to coincide with the White Paper in March (see EUROPE 11281) and the film-makers met in Rome last week to defend their viewpoint. (Isabelle Lamberty)