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.

The Society of Audiovisual Authors and its collective management organisation members stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and their creative community following the invasion of the country, and with all forms of opposition to the war. 

The 31 January 2020 marks the day when the UK left the EU. I called up our UK members Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive of Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) and Andy Harrower, CEO of Directors UK to hear from them how Brexit impacted their work and authors’ rights in the UK.

On 1 January, the French Presidency of the Council of the EU began. Put aside the pandemic and the upcoming French elections, the expectation on the Presidency from creators and their representative organisations is still high as France was the very first country - decades before the rest of the world - to recognize authors’ sovereignty over their creative works.

The SAA highlights the specific conditions and difficulties that young and aspiring European directors and screenwriters face in the 21st century of moving images and puts forward 5 ways to support next generation audiovisual authors.

The film and television landscape play an influential role when it comes to depicting, shaping, and framing reality. Since topics like inclusion and diversity have gained more public attention, the representation of marginalized groups in the global film and television industry[i] has increased[ii]. At first glance, this gives hope.

Exclusive screening in Brussels of the Slovenian feature film BEANIE directed by Slobodan Maksimović, on Tuesday 30 November at Cinema Galeries.

CharactHer, a new campaign by the European Commission, features inspiring women professionals and puts a spotlight on gender equality in the male dominated film and media sectors. A recent report by the European Audiovisual Observatory identifies 3 challenges: difficulties in measuring progress on on-screen representation, the complexity of collecting data on diversity, and the need for intersectional approaches.

The SAA have co-signed a letter by more than 110 pan-European networks, coordinated by Culture Action Europe. Today it has been sent to the Member States and the European Commission to secure a future for culture and cultural life in Europe.

Dear President von der Leyen, Vice-President Schinas, Commissioners Hahn, Gabriel, Breton,

The SAA, together with 20 other organisations from across the cultural and creative sector have sent a letter to Members of the European Parliament asking them to support culture in the Recovery and Resilience Facility.   

The 19 September 2020 is the final day for EU Member States to transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive into their national law, a legislation they agreed on two years ago (on 6 November 2018). This ‘upgraded’ directive further harmonises national legislation, not only on traditional TV broadcast but also on-demand services and video-sharing platforms.