
REPORT: FERA at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam) 2019 – 24 November 2019

IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) is one of the most important and dynamic documentary film festivals worldwide, which takes place yearly in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. IDFA offers a meeting place for audiences passionate about non-fiction filmmaking and professionals working in the industry. This year, FERA was involved in two industry sessions part of the festival, Stand up for your rights and Surviving as a documentary filmmaker in Europe, tackling current issues faced by documentary filmmakers in Europe.
Stand up for your rights was hosted by FERA French associate member LaScam and moderated by FERA board member and director Martijn Winkler. The talk gathered renown filmmakers Patricio Guzmán, Alexander Nanau, Suzanne Raes and Renate Sachse and focused on the new European Copyright Directive and its impact on European filmmakers. The panelists shared their experience of dealing with their authors’ rights and the income it generates as well as views on what to expect from the new EU legislation.
Surviving as a documentary filmmaker in Europe gathered panelists Aliona van der Horst, Marcus Vetter and FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle, and was moderated by Rebecca Day. The talk was opened with the presentation of data and figures from the European Survey on the Remuneration of Audiovisual Authors* revealing the struggle of dealing with long hours, unpaid work and instability of income faced by most documentary filmmakers in Europe. The panellists discussed the flaws in the system and put forth ideas on how to move towards a healthier documentary landscape with shared responsibilities. Read the panel report on the IDFA website at https://www.idfa.nl/en/article/131309/finding-solutions-for-the-survival-of-documentary-filmmakers
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* Research commissioned by BVR Services GmbH from CuDOS at University of Ghent on behalf of FERA – Federation of European Film Directors and FSE – Federation of Screenwriters in Europe, with the financial support of AIPA, ALCS, VG Bild Kunst, LIRA, Norsk Filmforbund, SAA, SACD, SGAE, SSA