With the European Parliament about to start discussing the European Commission’s copyright package proposals, SAA and FERA brought screenwriters and directors from across Europe. During their meetings with MEPs, they encouraged them to change the rules to achieve two main objectives: ensure that authors are fairly remunerated when their works are seen; better support the circulation and promotion of European audiovisual works.
The delegation also met the teams of the three LUX Film Prize finalists (My life as a Courgette by Claude Barras, Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade and As I open my eyes by Leyla Bouzid) present in Strasbourg for the awarding of the 2016 LUX Film Prize on 23 November. The European Parliament’s cinema prize provides distribution support through subtitling in the 24 official European languages, an essential element of a films’ circulation across Europe.
The delegation was made up of SAA members from Croatia (DHFR), France (SACD, La Scam), Germany (VG Bild Kunst), Poland (ZAPA), Slovenia (AIPA), Spain (SGAE, DAMA) and the United Kingdom (ALCS, Directors UK) as well as Members of FERA’s board of directors from Germany, Slovenia and France. The authors in the delegation included:
- Julia Altares (Amar en tiempos revueltos), Spain
- Christophe Andrei (Plus Belle La Vie), France
- Karolina Bielawska (Mów mi Marianna), Poland
- Peter Carpentier (Wie es Bleibt), Germany
- Carlos Clavijo (Gernika), Spain
- Klemen Dvornik (Kruha in Inger), Slovenia
- Dariusz Gajewski (Obce Niebo), Poland
- Anne Georget (Festins Imaginaires), France
- Virginie Linhart (Lundi en Histoires - Manuel Valls : Le Matador), France
- Jobst Ötzmann (Tatort), Germany
- Di Redmond (NOKSU), UK
- Tom Roberts (Company of Soldiers), UK
About SAA
Founded in 2010, the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) is the association of European collective management organisations representing audiovisual authors. Its 29 members in 22 countries manage rights for over 120,000 film, television and multimedia European screenwriters and directors.
The organisation’s objectives are:
- to defend and strengthen the economic and moral rights of audiovisual authors;
- 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.
www.saa-authors.eu @saabrussels
About FERA
The Federation of European Film Directors (FERA), founded in 1980, represents film and TV directors at 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.
www.filmdirectors.eu @film_directors
About FSE
The Federation of Screenwriters Europe is a network of national and regional associations, guilds and unions of writers for the screen in Europe, created in June 2001. It comprises 25 organisations from 19 countries, representing more than 7,000 screenwriters in Europe.
www.scenaristes.org @ScreenwritersEU
