Writers Guild of Ireland » Europe

EU Agrees Unwaivable Right to Fair Remuneration

Maura McHugh — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:03:30 +0000

This a joint press release from FERA, FSE, and SAA on “European Copyright: Parliament committees vote for an unwaivable right to fair remuneration for audiovisual authors.”

Today, the European Parliament Industry and Culture committees voted in favour of an unwaivable right to fair remuneration for authors and performers for the making available of their works. Supported by the European audiovisual authors’ community, such a remuneration right would ensure that screenwriters and directors receive royalties when their works are exploited on on-demand services, wherever in Europe, thanks to its collective mechanism.

The ITRE committee opinion, drafted by Polish ECR MEP Zdislaw Krasnodebski, was adopted including such an unwaivable right to fair remuneration introduced by S&D MEPs led by British MEP Theresa Griffin with the support from across the political spectrum. Drafted by French EPP MEP Marc Joulaud, the Culture committee adopted a compromise amendment with a similar positive provision for authors and performers based on amendments introduced by S&D, EPP and Greens but undermined by a possible derogation for original agreements which would raise the costs and sap the functioning of any collective agreement. Taking into account the weak individual bargaining power of audiovisual authors, such a derogation is not justified and will need to be reexamined.

The SAA encourages the European Council and the lead committee in the European Parliament, the Legal Affairs Committee, to support and adopt ITRE’s unwaivable right to remuneration.

The Legal Affairs committee, will discuss the Copyright Directive tomorrow and vote after the summer. The Council Intellectual Property Working Party held a meeting on this issue yesterday.

Quotes:

Cécile Despringre, SAA Executive Director said “The Culture and Industry opinions sends a clear and powerful message to the European Parliament’s lead committee and the Council. They have recognized that Europe’s screenwriters and directors must be financially rewarded when their works are successful online and have adopted the appropriate provisions to make sure that happens.“

Pauline Durand-Vialle, FERA Chief Executive added “The unwaivable right to fair remuneration received support from across the political spectrum this morning. It’s great to see the European Parliament stepping up in support of the audiovisual creative community.“

David Kavanagh, FSE Executive Officer said “This Directive is a unique opportunity to bring fairness to audiovisual authors by allowing them to share in the economic success of their works online: let’s hope this step forward in the EU Parliament paves the way for positive discussions in the Council.”

FERA – Founded in 1980, the Federation of European Film Directors contains 39 directors’ associations from 29 countries. It speaks for approximately 20,000 European screen directors, representing their cultural, creative and economic interests both in Brussels and in the Member States. www.filmdirectors.eu @Film_directors

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 members from 20 countries, representing more than 7,000 writers in Europe. www.scenaristes.com @ScreenwritersEU

SAA – Founded in 2010, the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) is the association of European collective management organisations representing audiovisual authors. Its 31 members in 23 countries manage rights for over 120,000 film, television and multimedia European screenwriters and directors. www.saa-authors.eu @saabrussels

SOS 2011

Maura McHugh — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:40:46 +0000

Save Our Scripts (SOS) is an opportunity for writers and producers to meet and collaborate in a uniquely creative environment. As well as developing specific scripts, and building development skills the scheme aims to connect emerging writers and producers from all over Europe.

SOS will run from April to December 2011 and contains three residential workshops in different European countries, mentoring and virtual script meetings.

SOS FOR WRITERS
Writers on the programme will develop a feature length script from a one page idea. This is done through intensive workshops that feature industry professionals, development support from SOS mentors, and structured input from the producer participants, and writing peers.

Writers are eligible if they have had up to one feature film produced, but must be able to demonstrate their writing ability.

The final deadline for applications is the 31st January 2011.

For more information, such as eligibility and fees, consult the website.

The future of MEDIA

Maura McHugh — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 09:16:55 +0000

Funding for the MEDIA Programme is secure until the end of 2013, but the future of the MEDIA Programme after 2013 needs to be decided.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the future of EU funding for the audiovisual sector after 2013. The deadline for contributions to the consultation is 30 November 2010.

In 2011, the Commission intends to adopt a draft Decision of the European Parliament and Council establishing a post-2013 funding programme. This new programme will help achieve the objectives of the new Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The purpose of the public consultation is to gather views from all relevant stakeholders of the audiovisual sector in Europe: distributors, producers, exhibitors, sales agents, training providers, public organisations and others. Views are sought regarding the objectives, activities, and types of support within the new programme.

One area of particular interest in the consultation concerns how the MEDIA Programme’s objectives and action lines should be revised in the light of technological, financial, social and other recent developments in order to ensure that they remain as relevant, clear and focused as possible.

The Commission is also interested in consulting on management aspects of the programme in this context.

The consultation is available online and only takes a few minutes to complete, so it could not be easier to submit your views.

Vote for Favourite European Film

Maura McHugh — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:31:56 +0000

The European Film Academy (EFA) is currently inviting votes for its 2010 People’s Choice Award.

The EFA People’s Choice Award allows film fans across Europe to elect their favourite film. Every year, when the European Film Academy invites its members, Europe’s greatest film stars, directors, producers, cinematographers, screenwriters, designers, but also industry representatives and the international media, to attend the European Film Awards, the People’s Choice Award sheds a spotlight on the people films are made for, the audience.

You can cast your vote on the website and win a chance to attend the 23rd European Film Awards on Saturday, 4 December 2010, in the Estonian capital Tallinn.

The films nominated this year are:

Agora, screenplay by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil; directed by Alejandro Amenábar;
Baarìa, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore;
An Education, screenplay by Nick Hornby; directed by Lone Scherfig
Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden (The Girl Who Played With Fire) screenplay by Jonas Frykberg; directed by Daniel Alfredson
The Ghost Writer, screenplay by Robert Harris and Roman Polanski; directed by Roman Polanski
Kick-Ass, screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn; directed by Matthew Vaughn
Mine Vaganti (Loose Cannons) screenplay by Ferzan Ozpetek & Ivan Cotroneo; directed by Ferzan Ozpetek
Mr. Nobody, written and directed by Jaco Van Dormael
Le Petit Nicolas, screenplay by Laurent Tirard & Grégoire Vigneron; directed by Laurent Tirard
Soul Kitchen, screenplay by Fatih Akin & Adam Bousdoukos; directed by Fatih Akin

The European Film Academy and EFA Productions present the People’s Choice Award in cooperation with a network of media partners across Europe including IFTN, AND, ARTE and STUDIO Ciné Live. Ernst & Young act as Official Tabulator.