
FERA speaks at the Declaration of Filmmakers event in Athens

On 15 December 2023, the Athens Film Office hosted the fourth Declaration of Filmmakers event in the Greek capital, a follow-up to the previous panels at Cannes Film Festival (19 May 2023), Venice Film Festival (29 August 2023) and San Sebastián International Film Festival (23 September 2023). The Athens session was organised in collaboration with the Greek Film Centre and EKOME, the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication.
The Declaration of Filmmakers was launched in France, as a response to the “diversity and vitality of the filmmaking industry [being] increasingly weakened by certain practices that contravene the core principles of copyright and creative freedom”. Invasive practices unduly interfering with the artistic and creative process, excluding filmmakers from creative decision making when they ultimately bear the responsibility of what the audience experiences on screen, all constitute a form of censorship – ultimately denying filmmakers’ moral right to their work.
This deplorable trend can be observed worldwide – often exacerbated by the US copyright model where filmmakers are not recognised as authors – which is why the initiative has now become an important movement of filmmakers all over Europe, joining forces to make their voices heard, and sharing their experiences and opinions about issues such as the impact of AI on their profession, streaming and intellectual property rights. The Declaration of Filmmakers aims to reaffirm the directors’ status as authors, to claim back their moral rights.
The event attendees were welcomed by several high-level officials: Christos Dimas, the Greek Deputy Minister of Culture; GFC President Markos Holevas; EKOME CEO Leonidas Christopoulos; Elena Christodoulidou; Lefteris S. Eleftheriou, the Film Commissioner of Cyprus; Athena Xenidou, the President of the Directors Guild of Cyprus; and Elli Roussou, a copyright lawyer.
The panel discussion was moderated by Athena Xenidou. The panelists were Marine Francen (SRF), Cédric Klapisch (SRF), Radu Mihaileanu (ARP), Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (ANAC), Gavriil Tzafkas (Danish Directors Guild), Costa-Gavras, Howard A. Rodman (WGA), FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle and FERA Chair of the board Bill Anderson.
To go further:
>>> Athens Film Office news
>>> a short video and a few images from Athens.
Background – The Declaration of Filmmakers’ initiative:
– the Declaration of Filmmakers’ text and translations
– Cannes, 19 May 2023: panel discussion moderated by Radu Mihaileanu (ARP) and Marine Francen (SRF), with Cédric Klapisch (SRF), Sofia Norlin (Sweden), Najwa Najjar (Palestine), Anurag Kashyap (India) and Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (ANAC).
– Venice, 29 August 2023: panel discussion moderated by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (ANAC), with Marine Francen (SRF), Radu Mihaileanu (ARP), Giorgio Glaviano (WGI), Giacomo Durzi et Najwa Najjar (Palestine) with video messages from Cédric Klapisch (SRF), Howard A. Rodman (WGA) and Marco Bellocchio.
>>> a few images from Venice
>>> a short presentation video with excerpts from the Venice and San Sebastian discussions
– San Sebastián, 23 September 2023: panel discussion moderated by Pilar Pérez Solano (Acción), with Judith Colell, Álvaro Brechner, Kepa Sojo and Antonio Hens.
>>> full recording of the San Sebastian roundtable
>>> press clips: in El Español, La vanguardia, Cineconn and Audiovisual 451