08/11/2005 - For the second time, the Conference of Naples was held in 2005 on the initiative of FERA with the support of Cineuropa and the Province of Naples. The discussion focused on he three crucial events of the moment: Convention for the cultural Diversity now signed at UNESCO, the Revision of the Directive without Frontier and the Media programme 2007.

DECLARATION OF NAPLES 2005

On October 21st, 22nd and 23rd on the initiative of FERA and with the support of Cineuropa and the Province of Naples, was held, for the second time, the Conference of Naples. This year, the conference was registered with the sign of the three crucial events of the moment: Convention for the cultural Diversity now signed at UNESCO, the Revision of the Directive without Frontier and the Media programme 2007, as well as an inventory of fixtures of the national and regional government aid, have regard with the policy of the competition of the European Union. During these Meetings, several personalities of the audio-visual world, trade associations, as expert academics and European senior officials have animated very sharp and courageous debates. FERA by holding account of the contents of these days has compiled the following document that it wishes to carry to the attention of the European and international decision makers.

A STAKE OF CIVILIZATION

In the days following the historical vote of UNESCO, it is important to become aware that the stake of Cultural Diversity mainly in the field of audio-visual, became and becomes each time more a stake of civilization.

We know all that the flood of the markets of Europe by the audio-visual products exported by the great dominant world monopolistic groups, in particular American, involve the atrophy of the European apparatus of production and distribution, the increasingly difficult access to the tool and the investment, dilapidation in the field of the creation and the activities of audio-visual realization.

But it is important to see another phenomenon, parallel but too often occulted.

The invasion of the market and the screens, with the first chief those of domestic television, by the whole coming from the imagery exported by the great dominant groups of audio-visual universalization generates a diffuse phenomenon of progressive impregnation of the consciences and unconscious collective. Thus, placed in a situation of cultural colonization, the hundreds of million inhabitants of Europe are confronted daily with thousand sets of themes which conceal as many archetypes components of a civilization: opinions and beliefs, behaviours and rules, aesthetic choices and moral requirements, ways of life and art of living, models and values.

This phenomenon, prolonged day after day, year after year, the time of a life of man, even of successive generations, instilled by the subliminal voices and those of an tireless repetition, is of nature, over the long duration, to saturate the fields with imaginary, to corrupt the original memories, to break the secular roots, so that this slow, insidious and invasive impregnation of the fields of conscience and memory of hundreds of million people by billion fugitive images, should lead to so many and major changes of the mental universe of the great number which they will detach the populations of their roots. It is not alarmist to think that these images could erode to the base the old civilizations of Europe and to break continuity of it. It is of course the question of these civilizations which sit, immaterial, in the spirit of the men, who are the matrix within which are generated, give birth to themselves, and their cultural activities are re-born continuously remain and whose slow disintegration is an undoubtedly irreversible phenomenon.

In a context also heavily alarming, we should repeat that the stake of cultural diversity is also a stake of civilization. In Europe and elsewhere. This major stake is a major argument to affirm the pre-eminence of the Convention of UNESCO on the commercial treaties and to carry the decision of the authorities to promote everywhere the adoption and the expansion of cultural policies. Because it is important to understand well that the vote of UNESCO, far from leading us to lower the guard, force us on the contrary to mobilize us, all and everywhere, to start the combat of Cultural Diversity, which one must be assured that it will be long and testing, but one must unceasingly remember that it relates to the safeguard of a certain creative genius of the men and the perenniality of civilizations which they slowly built.

It is from these point of view, in a fidelity to the creation conceived like a strategy, but also as a contribution to the cause of Cultural Diversity, that FERA will continue to work and fight to defend the free creativity of the authors and the directors, which is guarantor of the authenticity of their works, and to promote as well the freedom of choice of million citizens as virtues of the critical intelligence and an adult glance...

THE REVISION OF DIRECTIVE TVSF

With regard to the revision of the Directive Television Without Frontier, the participants ask the decision makers to take into consideration of the following recommendations without which no safeguard can be truly assured as for the respect of the minimal rules which can safeguard the quality of our cultural goods:

1) It is necessary that the proposal of the EC affirms measurements of promotion of European contents and, generally, that is to say guarantor of cultural diversity and that whatever the diffusers.

2) It is also essential that the Directive not proposes a principle but an obligation of contribution to the production of the new diffusers, i.e. of all the services on line.

3) It is needed that the Directive presents a redefinition of the plate of the quotas, within the meaning of a tightening on the programs of stock, i.e. of creation.

4) It is also important that it decides with more clearness and precision as for the normative one concerning the delocalization of the goods and services.

THE PROGRAM MEDIA 2007

We greet and appreciate the efforts of Media going in the direction of a better promotion and diffusion of European films, especially as regards non national European films, but we think that the statements of this program remain below the needs for cultural industry for the cinema and the audio-visual one. In particular we would wish efforts, as well in the domestic market European Union as in the markets Third countries and in particular Mediterranean zone, emergent countries such China, and the Countries which share the values of the European Union. With this intention we ask the European Commission to make active efforts in the directions stated below:

1) the budgetary equipment envisaged by the European Commission for the program Media 2007 and which amounts to € 1.055.000.000 involve an investment largely below the goals which it set. If she wants to serve the objectives that it proposes and who are recognized like priority actions by all the actors of the cultural Industry of the cinema and the audio-visual one, and if it wants by this making fall under the prospects for the goals which the Heads of States had identified in the Strategy of Lisbon: education, research and the innovation, and the company of information, it must be provided with financial means with the height with these ambitions.

2) So that it gives itself these means, FERA regard that this budget must amount to €3.165.000.000 (i.e. three times more). This budget possible by a reinvestment of financial means is envisaged from the point of view of the new budgetary reforms of the European Union and which relate to the mobilization of new financial means towards these sectors carrying growth, development and social stability.

3) We greet the efforts as regards distribution of the works of digital creation, and we express the wish to see deploying financial means as regards development of the networks and the services facilitating the circulation of the European works, in the respect of the royalty.

In addition we greet the creation of the executive agency, but we express the wish of a great vigilance and we recommend the greatest transparency in the criteria of attribution of the supports for the audio-visual works, and that to support, to defend and respect cultural diversity. In addition, it is necessary to reinforce the roles of the Desk Media as for their possibility of reception of the requests for support.

We express as our regret to see as in this programme, again the audio-visual works of creation remain orphan and that in spite owing to the fact that Directive 93/98 over the "Duration of protection of the royalties and close rights" specified that: "At least the principal director of a film is considered author". The attribution of the development aids with the only producers considered as only initiators of the chain of production of the audio-visual?uvres of creation is for that insufficient. This one must be opened to the authors who are generally the true initiators of the projects of audio-visual creation.

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NATIONAL AND REGIONALES GOVERNMENT AID AND ON THE POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AS REGARDS COMPETITION

1) These assistances constitute the base of the audio-visual policy in Europe. All reached with their existence or the diminution of their capacity of intervention is a direct attack with the possibility of defending of the works of creation in their linguistic specificity, geographical and of cultural diversity. In this direction we greet with enthusiasm the birth, after ten years of efforts, National Institute of the Cinema and Polish Audio-visual.

2) regional assistances, main roads and European contributed in their relations of complementarity and subsidiarity to the good development and the vitality of the audio-visual works. It is essential to safeguard their operation and to increase the possibilities of action of the Center nationals and regional of the new Countries and to recognize their complementarity. In this direction FERA it is held with the provisions of these organizations, as well as of the trade associations realizes so that a confrontation and better information and coordination of these assistances can be set up.

3) In this direction one should not be mistaken in target. In the current situation of the domestic market, it is obvious that the principal causes of distortion of competition find their origin in the policy of the great dominant groups.

Translation : Eurovisioni