A Global Declaration for Artistic Freedom, Cultural Diversity and cultural sovereignty
A global petition was launched today by representatives from the film and audiovisual sectors across the world, calling on all governments to stand firm and safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation so that culture, creativity, and democratic access to diverse stories for the screen can continue to flourish.
Our Stories, our Voices
We, creators, professionals, companies, and organisations from the film and audiovisual sector, along with culturally engaged citizens, unite to defend our right to tell our own stories – stories rooted in our cultures, languages, and identities – and to ensure that people everywhere can continue to access and enjoy them.
For decades, governments and institutions around the world have supported film and audiovisual creation through public funding, cultural policy and regulation that foster independent productions and ensure that local stories not only exist but reach both local and global audiences.
Films and audiovisual works do not just fuel economic growth and global talent circulation, they reflect who we are as societies and envision who we could become. More than enriching our cultural lives, they are essential to a healthy democracy: they support freedom of expression and give voice to the diverse stories and perspectives of humanity.
Today, the support for independent film and audiovisual storytelling is under growing threat.
We are witnessing increasingly aggressive attempts by powerful political and corporate actors to dismantle the regulatory protections that ensure the diversity and accessibility of cultural expression.
This includes direct challenges to essential protections such as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive in the European Union, proposed local content obligations in Australia, screen quotas in Asia, and requirements that streaming services contribute to domestic production in Canada, among others.
These actions take place alongside wider attacks on pluralism and freedom of expression. If they succeed, it will become increasingly difficult for diverse voices to be heard, for the whole eco-system to create, produce, distribute, promote and exhibit films and audiovisual works successfully, and for local cultures to thrive.
We therefore firmly oppose any political, legal, or economic initiative that seeks to undermine national or international rules designed to uphold artistic freedom and cultural diversity in the film and audiovisual sector.
This includes the right of countries to create and maintain their own cultural policies and regulatory systems, which recognise the importance to own, control, and monetize our works' intellectual property. Such measures form the foundation of a healthy audiovisual ecosystem, allowing the economic value generated by creative works to benefit domestic creators, reinforcing the cultural sovereignty of local film and audiovisuals sectors around the world, and supporting the international circulation of diverse, independent film and audiovisual works.
We also strongly reaffirm the importance of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which marks its 20th anniversary this year. We urge our governments to reinforce its implementation, especially in the face of emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence, algorithm-driven platforms, and the growing dominance of global entertainment conglomerates.
We call on all governments to stand firm and safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation so that culture, creativity, and democratic access to diverse stories for the screen can continue to flourish.
The SAA is one of the many co-signatories. Download the statement to see the full list.