EC Vice President Ansip meets European Film Directors
This Friday morning, European Film Directors Lucas Belvaux (Belgium), Fred Breinersdorfer (Germany), Dante Desarthe (France), Michel Hazanavicius (France), Dariusz Jabłoński (Poland), Eric Lartigau (France), Annette K. Olesen (Denmark), Jean-Paul Salomé (France) met with European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip to exchange views on how best the Commission can help the film industry to make the most of the opportunities offered by the Digital Single Market.
The conversation between the filmmakers and VP Ansip, covered by Chatham House rules, addressed a number of issues relating to the Digital Single Market strategy – copyright, in particular enforcement, how to improve cross-border access to works in Europe and the “discoverability” of European films online –, but also issues linked to the very future of European cinema – how to develop sustainable models for the future of financing and distribution in an audiovisual landscape challenged by digital technologies.
Filmmakers expressed their willingness to explore all possible opportunities to reach audiences all over Europe. They also insisted on the importance of the territorial nature of copyright and of public intervention in the audiovisual sector as part of the ecosystem that facilitates the creation, financing and distribution of a wide range of films to promote Europe’s cultural diversity – one of the objectives of the Digital Single Market strategy presented in May by the European Commission.
The European Commission will unfold its Digital Single Market strategy with a Communication on future initiatives in the field of copyright and a Regulation on portability expected early December.
We hope that today’s constructive dialogue will incite the European Commission to take into account directors and audiovisual authors demands, and to strengthen authors’ rights as the essential mechanism to ensure that they are fairly remunerated for their work – and the use of their works.