12/05/2010

On the eve of the opening of the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival and a few days after the publication of European Commission’s long-awaited Green paper on cultural and creative industries, SAA (Society of Audiovisual Authors) launched its activities in Brussels.

SAA is an association of European Collective Management Societies which represents, defends and strengthens the economic and moral rights of audiovisual authors - over 100,000 film and television screenwriters and directors.

An SAA Board of Patrons consisting of prominent personalities from the audiovisual sector (Fred Breinersdorfer, Dardenne brothers, Marco Tullio Giordana, Agnès Jaoui, Roger Michell, Radu Mihăileanu, Paolo Sorrentino, Bertrand Tavernier, Jaco Van Dormael) was recruited in order to improve the understanding of real concerns of working scriptwriters and directors in Europe and to actively participate in the debate and speak publicly on behalf of SAA and its members.

Cécile Despringre, Executive Director of SAA, answered to Cineuropa about the challenges of the Society: “We have identified three main challenges”, she said. “First of all make European institutions, the media and the public in general understand that behind what some politicians call “content”, whether digital or not, there are authors, who make their living from the success of their works. Secondly we want to educate the audience, in particular the youngest, with the respect of authors’ rights, including the possibility to pay to access and enjoy certain works. Lastly we want to support new business models for the online exploitation of works which identify and streamline new sources of financing for audiovisual works and include fair remuneration for audiovisual authors.”