2023-05-16 07:47:00
This declaration is on the initiative of the filmmakers of the ARP (Civil Society of Authors, Directors and Producers) and the SRF (Society of Film Directors).
We filmmakers work at the crossroads “of an art and moreover of an industry” (André Malraux).
We carry the artistic dimension of this industry. And it is because authors and filmmakers are free that our industry is alive.
Today, the diversity and vitality of our sector are increasingly weakened by certain practices that contravene the fundamental principles of copyright and freedom of creation: modified scripts, artistic collaborators and imposed castings, films modified editing by broadcasters, prescribed choice of music, transfer of the function of the director from creator to performer, etc.
These practices, aimed at circumventing the initial spirit of the work – thus implicitly of the finished work – by invoking commercial reasons, inevitably represent a form of censorship which alters any creative process. They call into question the freedom of experimentation and end up making the author invisible, by coming dangerously close to the concept of copyright which prevails on the American market.
These practices have no place either in our cinema or in the audiovisual sector, where this same trend has already been observed for a long time.
It is therefore absolutely essential to protect our status as authors and to reaffirm our moral rights, recalling that:
The following elements must be decided by mutual agreement between the author and the producer, whose collaboration and relationship of trust are at the heart of our creation. Cannot in any case be added, deleted or changed without the agreement, explicitly expressed, of the filmmaker:
– the final version of the scenario;
– the title of the film;
– the final edited version of the film;
– which includes the opening and closing credits of the film.
The name of the author must appear:
– in the credits of the film;
– on any physical or digital promotional medium;
– on any distribution channel and operating medium, on the presentation page of the film if applicable (television channels, online video-on-demand platforms, one-off or by subscription, etc.).
Any breach of the points set out above and/or any pressure exerted could be considered as a desire for subordination, which would open the way to a requalification of the contract for the transfer of rights into an employment contract. This could imply the loss of the exploitation rights of the work.
At the request of the filmmaker, any violation relating to these points, from writing to final editing, must be able to be noted and sanctioned.
Through this joint declaration, we undertake not to accept any derogation from these principles, and not to sign any contract or agreement that would be contrary to them.
We call on all partners of our cultural exception to also commit to it.
The first signatories: Kev Adams, Jacques Audiard, Lucas Belvaux, Houda Benyamina, Thomas Bidegain, Bertrand Bonello, Lucie Borleteau, Rachid Bouchareb, Guillaume Brac, Stéphane Brizé, Thomas Cailley, Vincent Maël Cardona, Etienne Chatiliez, Romain Cogitore, Isabel Coixet, Costa-Gavras, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Thierry de Peretti, Claire Denis, Stéphanie di Giusto, Cyril Dion, Maïmouna Doucouré, Albert Dupontel, Pascal Elbé, Philippe Faucon, Pascale Ferran, David Foenkinos, Nicole Garcia, Yann Gonzalez , Rachid Hami, Michel Hazanavicius, Jeanne Herry, Hafsia Herzi, Christophe Honoré, Pierre Jolivet, Gérard Jugnot, Gustave Kervern, Cédric Klapisch, Eric Lartigau, Sébastien Laudenbach, Philippe Le Guay, Michel Leclerc, Pascal Legitimus, Xavier Legrand, Claude Lelouch, Philippe Lioret, Aïssa Maïga, Eric Métayer, Radu Mihaileanu, Dominik Moll, Olivier Nakache, Just Philippot, Katell Quillévéré, Lola Quivoron, Axelle Ropert, Brigitte Roüan, Thomas Salvador, Pierre Salvadori, Léonor Serraille, Coline Serreau, Claire Simon, Samuel Theis , Eric Toledano, Joachim Trier, Fernando Trueba, Caroline Vignal, Alice Winocour.
#filmmakers #denounce #breaches #copyright #Liberation