FERA reacts to absence of EU creators in upcoming Estonian Presidency Audiovisual Conference programme

Sectornieuws

Dinsdag 14 november, 2017

Brussels, November 14, 2017
Honorary President Sir Alan Parker addressed a letter to Estonian Minister of Culture Indrek Saar on Monday November 13 to express dismay at the absence of European creators or author representatives in the programme of the audiovisual conference “Pictured futures: connecting content, tech & policy in audiovisual Europe” to be hosted in Tallinn by the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
From the evolution of technology on set and in post-production, to new trends in “storytelling visions and formats”, as described in one of the conference panel title, audiovisual authors like film and TV directors have been experiencing the digital shift in their craft on a daily basis for years. This has taught us that without creative vision, new formats cannot be expected to thrive.
As the creative minds at the very origin of the audiovisual and copyright value chain, we have a vision of “where the European audiovisual market is going long-term”, particularly as the EU institutions are reforming the European copyright legal framework and building a Digital Single Market : we believe that fostering the diversity of creative voices in Europe by producing a variety of audiovisual works is the only way to sustain cultural diversity, one of the European Union’s essential strengths.
We therefore consider that an essential part of these discussions is missing from the conference programme : how to make the Digital Single Market a sustainable environment for audiovisual creators by ensuring their fair remuneration through the EU copyright legal framework.
We hope this conference programme does not reflect the full scope of the priorities of the Estonian Presidency, which we trust will have at heart to promote a sustainable vision for the future of Europe’s audiovisual creation and its authors’ community in the on-going discussions on the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive proposal, the Regulation proposal on Broadcasters’ Online Transmissions and Retransmissions, and the AVMS Directive proposal.
 

The Federation of European Film Directors (FERA), founded in 1980, is the only organisation representing film directors at the European level. With 35 directors associations as members from 29 countries, we speak for more than 20,000 European screen directors, representing their cultural, creative and economic interests at the national and European level. FERA works to promote policies that maximize the creative, social and commercial potential of the audiovisual industry.

– Honorary President –
Sir Alan PARKER (UK)

– Creative Council –
Marco BELLOCCHIO (Italy)
Agnieszka HOLLAND (Poland)
Michaël R. ROSKAM (Belgium)
Charles STURRIDGE (UK)
István SZABÓ (Hungary)
– Executive Committee –
Dan CLIFTON (UK), Chair
Sverre PEDERSEN (Norway), Honorary Treasurer
Karolina BIELAWSKA (Poland)
Peter CARPENTIER (Germany)
Klemen DVORNIK (Slovenia)
Hrvoje HRIBAR (Croatia)
Lou JEUNET (France)
Alberto SIMONE (Italy)
Birgitte STÆRMOSE (Denmark)
Martijn WINKLER (Netherlands)
More information available on our website
www.filmdirectors.eu