Blog
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Secretary General’s February Digest
In February, we were back to the Berlinale, we closed the SAA 2022 accounts and prepared our upcoming General Assembly meeting. We welcomed filmmakers from Romania, Slovenia and Croatia to our Board of Patrons and organised an online event with authors and experts from Latin America and Europe on audiovisual authors’ rights.
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The audiovisual sector so male
This year the Golden Globes, the Oscars and most recently the French César awards all failed to nominate any women for best director catalysing campaigns such as #OscarsSoMale and #CesarSoMale. Even the European Parliament’s LUX Audience Award only had one female director nominee out of five film finalists, making it clear that there still are many steps that need to be taken to reach a more equal and diverse film sector, and appreciation for women behind and on the screen.
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Secretary General's Monthly Digest: January 2023
This is my first monthly digest. Whether you are a policymaker, filmmaker or other professional in the cultural and audiovisual sector, I hope my chronicle about the SAA’s activities may be valuable for you to get an insight into our work in support of audiovisual authors’ rights in Europe.
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Meet our member: Copyswede
On 1 January Sweden took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Despite being one of the largest countries with one of the lowest populations per square kilometer in all of Europe, it is the home to Greta Thunberg, Alfred Nobel, Ingmar Bergman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ABBA and many more. I talked to Mattias Åkerlind, CEO of Copyswede, from a cold Stockholm.
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What is in the next EU Work Plan for Culture?
On 29 November 2022, the Council of the EU adopted its resolution on the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026. We had a look at what is particularly interesting for the audiovisual sector and its authors.
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A moving image of audiovisual authors’ rights
The pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the energy crisis, and political wins of the extreme right, are the latest big headlines of many recent reports about the world in 2022. Indeed, these disheartening developments have repercussions on the cultural and creative sectors too. At the same time, data and figures help us better understand our environment, and where we need to focus our efforts to move forward.
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What we learned from 2021
Against the backdrop of what we have learned from the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis, the 2019 EU copyright legislation, and a changing audiovisual industry, with the increase of streaming services and online platforms, the SAA has adopted a 3-years strategic plan.
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Meet our member: DILIA in Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, known for its top-ranking female tennis players, the world’s first robot, and it’s 2,000 castles, is since 1 July holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. I had a talk with Jan Barták, working for our Czech member DILIA about their work and expectations about the Presidency.
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“You wouldn’t steal a movie”, would you?
"You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal a handbag, you wouldn't steal a television, you wouldn't steal a movie. Downloading pirated films is stealing, stealing is against the law, PIRACY IT'S A CRIME"
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Follow Belgium and implement authors’ rights!
It has been more than a year since the deadline for the implementation of the Copyright Directive (2019/790/EU) and only 15 of the 27 Member States have finalised the transposition. Many Member States have disregarded the reasoning behind Article 18 on appropriate and proportionate remuneration for the license or transfer of exclusive rights, but Belgium, when implementing the Directive, seized the opportunity to reflect on the real needs of authors and performers.
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‘Little streams make big rivers’ – royalties for public performance and educational uses matters
Have you thought about all the times you watch films and TV when you are not at home nor at the cinema? Indeed, you are watching from the waiting room at the doctors, the airplane seat or in the classroom. These are all occasions when screenwriters and directors should be - but rarely are - receiving fair and proportionate remuneration for the use of their works.
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US companies dominating the EU market - less rights for authors?
During the pandemic lockdowns and quarantines, many of us expressed gratefulness for the 21st century technology that allowed us to watch films and series on our screens, escaping the worrying health crisis around us. However, few paid attention to the consequences of the domination of the streaming and on-demand services by US interests: while the audience gets more content, European authors are being stripped of their right to royalties.
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