Javier Millay, the new president of Argentina, who is known as the "madman", has been in office for more than a month, which has brought drastic changes to all aspects of the country's society, and the film industry has been hard-pressed to be immune. In the package of reforms it proposed, the measures related to the film field mainly include that it will no longer provide funds to the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) of Argentina in the future, and plans to cancel financial aid to the National Film School of Argentina (ENERC). and cancel the screening quota for Argentine domestic films in local cinemas.
In the view of Millais, who calls himself an "anarcho-capitalist", this is the true market economy film model, which does not rely on government subsidies or impose protective barriers, and completely allows the market to determine everything. However, in the eyes of Argentine filmmakers, such reforms undoubtedly mean the death of the country's film industry.
"Soon, Argentina will go from producing 200 movies a year to just a few movies a year, and even these few movies will have no chance of entering theaters and can only be played on streaming media." Participate. Argentinian producer Axel Kuschevatzky, who has produced films such as "Wild Stories" and "Argentina, 1985", said in an interview with the online media Deadline.
"Wild Stories" and "Argentina, 1985" posters
Last week, the news that the Argentine film industry was facing a strong earthquake also touched the hearts of filmmakers around the world. A large number of celebrities in the film industry, led by Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Justin Trier, and Isabelle Huppert, signed the open letter, Echoing calls from various Argentinian filmmakers, the new government is required to step back from the brink.
The introduction to the open letter was written by Walter Salles, a Brazilian who has directed films such as "Central Station" and "The Motorcycle Diaries": "Argentine films are admired and inspired by audiences around the world because there are excellent directors and full-scale films. Passionate actors and outstanding film craftsmen. As Martin Scorsese said, culture is not a commodity, but a necessity of our lives. It belongs to a country, not a political party. In a democracy, the government will change, but for culture Our support remains unchanged. At this moment, all our solidarity goes to the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina and Argentine Cinema.”
"Grand Central Station" and "Motorcycle Diaries" posters
It is reported that Argentina’s current “Film Law” was promulgated in 1994. After the domestic film industry experienced a long decline, local filmmakers lobbied the then Carlos Menem government, and relevant laws were enacted to actively provide cash subsidies to support domestic films. Prior to this, between 1993 and 1994, only seven domestic films were produced in Argentina. Since then, Argentinian films have made great progress in both quantity and quality, and masterpieces such as "Mysterious Eyes", "Outstanding Citizen" and "Zama" have been produced.
"The 1994 Film Law established the Argentine Film Development Fund to support film production at the national level and activate our domestic film ecosystem." The producer who won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "Mysterious Eyes" "So it's hard for me to understand why the new government would destroy such a well-functioning cultural measure," said Vanessa Ragone There is a lack of sufficient understanding, but it is regrettable that no one came to listen to our opinions and understand our true thoughts before they planned reforms.”
"Mysterious Eyes", "Zama" and "Outstanding Citizen" posters
In the open letter, the protesters criticized the new government's reform plan as "implying the destruction of the National Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina, and with it the destruction of the eight branches of the National Film School of Argentina, which have long been responsible for The important task of providing free and high-quality public education in all regions of Argentina. In this way, the new government, under the pretext of economic efficiency, seeks to deprive us of an important tool for the exercise of our citizenship rights - culture."
At the same time, critics also pointed out that the Argentine film industry provides tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and supports a large number of families in Argentina; and that Argentine films participate in various film festivals around the world year after year, which is a statement on the global stage. A vital force in the story of Good Argentina, but both important functions are at stake at the moment due to the reform of film laws that the new government is trying to push forward.
Regarding criticism of the film industry, Leonardo Cifelli, the Minister of Culture of the new government, publicly stated that the reality in Argentina is that there is a lack of money in all aspects, and movies are no exception. Therefore, it is really a helpless move to cancel the government's film subsidy.
However, in the eyes of the filmmakers, in addition to the economic accounts, the new government's reform measures obviously also have a political account that they are unwilling to explain publicly. "This is completely political, because in the eyes of this right-wing government, all filmmakers are leftists. But this is not true. Diversity exists in every country and in every field, and the same is true in the Argentine film industry." A producer who did not want to be named said in an interview with the media.
In the end, the open letter was signed by more than 300 directors, producers, actors and film-related practitioners from around the world. In addition to the five mentioned above, there are also Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, Belgian director Dardenne Brothers, Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, French director Olivier Assayas, American director Kelly Leichardt, Brazilian director Cleber Mendoza Jr., Portugal Director Pedro Costa, Indian director Mira Nair, veteran American director Roger Corman, Filipino director Lav Diaz, Romanian director Radu Jude and the French Directors Guild and other organizations and individuals.
Finally, in the face of tremendous pressure, the new government withdrew its film reform plan last week, and the state financial assistance to the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina will remain unchanged, which also gave all Argentine filmmakers a temporary sigh of relief. However, the confrontation between the new President Milai and the Argentine film industry may not stop there.
The National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina, founded in 1968, has a status approximately equivalent to the National Film Administration. The government injects funds into it every year, and the institute allocates these funds to different domestic film and television projects and uses it to maintain its eight national film studios. School operations. However, due to the poor overall economy, the film fund under the Institute's name is currently said to have been exhausted, and the original chairman Nicolas Batlle is said to have voluntarily resigned after Millais came to power, resulting in the most important project in Argentina. The film establishment is currently leaderless.
