Société des Auteurs Audiovisuels
Society of Audiovisual Authors

The conference will be held on 29^th November from 2pm to 6pm at the Concert Noble in Brussels followed by a reception and a screening of "Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro" by Robert Guédiguian, this year's LUX Price winning film, at Flagey.

Please click here to see the day's programme and here for more information on the afternoon's speakers.  To register, please click here.  For practical information on the venues, please click here.

Leading European directors and screenwriters Fred Breinersdorfer (Sophie Scholl), Stijn Coninx (Koko Flanel, Soeur Sourire), Bertrand Tavernier (Un dimanche à la campagne, La Princesse de Montpensier), Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero, Mr Nobody), Virgina Yagüe (Aráyan, El Súper) and CEOs of SAA collective management societies met Commissioner Vassiliou yesterday to present the SAA’s White Paper on Audiovisual Authors’ Rights and Remuneration in Europe and discuss some of the key issues it raises.

SAA representatives welcomed the European Commission Communication on a Single Market for Intellectual Property Rights adopted on 24^th May.  The Communication clarifies that the Audiovisual Green paper, due in the second half of 2011, will address “the status of audiovisual authors and their participation in the benefits of online revenue streams”. SAA’s proposal for new mechanisms to respect authors’ rights and to remunerate authors for the online exploitation of their works should be central to the Green Paper.

In their conversation with Commissioner Vassiliou, SAA authors presented the way audiovisual authors work in Europe and the time and energy they spend in creating, developing and producing films in a legal environment which in many countries does not reward their personal investment. They also underlined the need for rules to ensure that market players who benefit from the exposure of films invest in cinema and television production. At a time when distribution channels are multiplying and European films face tough competition with US films, enhanced efforts in distribution are key to the visibility of European works and helping them find an audience both in- and outside of their country of origin.

The Commissioner welcomed these fruitful exchanges with such a high-level and diverse group of authors and re-iterated her support for the MEDIA programme, in particular its development and distribution trends. She highlighted the link between films and education, culture and multilingualism and underlined her efforts for more synergies between them.

Quotes

Bertrand Tavernier, the award-winning French director said: “VoD and the internet are not only opportunities for my works to reach new audiences but also technical tools that should bring transparency to the exploitation of films.  It should not be a fight for authors to have their rights respected and receive additional remuneration based on the success of their works.”

Stijn Coninx, the renowned Belgian director, said: “It’s vital that the Commission continues to support European cinema and that we can seize the possibilities of the online world.”

Cécile Despringre, Executive Director of SAA added: “This White Paper represents a real evaluation of the current state of play for audiovisual authors like those who attended yesterday’s meeting.  The Commissioner’s interest in our issues is encouraging and we will continue to work with other stakeholders to try and build some industry consensus on how we can guarantee real returns for successful directors and screenwriters”.

The audiovisual industry makes a vital contribution to Europe both economically and culturally. There are currently approximately one million people directly working in the European audiovisual industry, an industry with more than €108 billion of growth revenues in 2009. SAA believes that the time is right to value the contribution of audiovisual authors and make sure that they are not left behind in the future when it comes to a fair reward for work. SAA’s role is to ensure that screenwriters and directors remain at the heart of the digital economy and are fairly remunerated in line with the financial success of their work.

In the light of the SAA White Paper publication, acclaimed Greek/French filmmaker Costa-Gavras commented: “Politicians’ support hasn’t been sufficiently active in finding ways to distribute European films to all European countries. In order to achieve change it is important to make collective efforts and in this context, the work of SAA is an important one.”

For Gerhard Pfennig, Chairman of the SAA Board of Directors, “Digitisation creates new challenges for authors and their collective management societies. Whilst societies are actively addressing the demands of new distribution platforms they also need the support of legislative protection at European and national level to ensure that authors continue to benefit financially for the use of and access to their works. New technologies should benefit users, the cultural industry, the communication networks – and also the creators.”

The White Paper provides information on the situation of European audiovisual authors in terms of their rights and remuneration. It highlights existing problems and presents solutions based on the experience and know-how of collective management societies.

With this White Paper, SAA wishes to open the debate at both national and European levels on the situation of audiovisual authors and on possible solutions to new challenges they face. 

Costa-Gavras, (Z, Missing, Amen, Eden à l’Ouest), Jaco Van Dormael (Toto le Héros, Le huitième jour, Mr. Nobody), Fred Breinersdorfer (Sophie Scholl, the Final Days), Stijn Coninx (Koko Flanel, Daens, Soeur Sourire), Guy Seligmann (Sartre par lui-même, La mort de Danton, Dix mythes par Claude Lévy-Strauss) a group of eminent audiovisual authors - members of the SAA Board of Patrons, met today Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services in order to discuss the issues, problems and solutions that audiovisual authors are faced with at the European level.

In the heart of the conversation were the political and legal challenges the sector is experiencing: the changing environment of the film and TV industries, the necessity of a legal environment that fosters creativity, EU political push for a digital single market, and the fact that the EU framework remains to be harmonised in order to ensure effective economic and moral rights and remuneration for audiovisual authors.

The Board of Patrons explained to the Commissioner the objectives that are of paramount importance to SAA and namely: to defend and strengthen the economic and moral rights of audiovisual authors (screenwriters and directors); to secure fair remuneration for audiovisual authors for every use of their works; to develop, promote and facilitate the management of rights by member societies.

Finally SAA participants explained that the only realistic and sustainable solutions are to foster awareness about the importance of the protection of intellectual property rights as a basis for a diverse cultural landscape targeting European stakeholders and the broad public; to establish an unwaivable right to fair remuneration of European audiovisual authors for the making available right (online rights) and finally to ensure the effective implementation through collective management societies by improving procedures and co-operation on national, European and global level.

The launch ceremony will take place:

on Tuesday 11th May at 1pm in

Résidence Palace - International Press Centre

Room Polak

Rue de la Loi 155 - Bloc C B - 1040 Brussels

The ceremony will be attended by the CEOs of the members' authors' societies and a few members of the SAA Board of Patrons, in particular Marco Tullio Giordana, director of "The Best of Youth", recipient of the prestigious Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival and Roger Michell, British director of "Notting Hill".

Luigi Berlinguer, Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs will welcome the new organisation.  The launch ceremony will be followed by a finger food and drinks reception.