31/03/2003 - Industry operators unite in a Committee in defence of Spanish cinema on the domestic market and seek government support

The representatives of 16 Spanish film industry associations have come together to create a single Committee for the defence of Spanish Cinema, in support of a more wide-ranging project that was established in February of this year to draw up a charter that will make Iberian films more competitive on the domestic market.
Last week a 6-man commmission of representatives of this committee met Beatriz Rodrigues-Salmones, the spokeswoman of the Parliamentary Group for Education and Culture of the Congress and her counterpart at the Catalonian parliament, Ignasi Guardans.
Following the meeting, a statement was released underlining both spokespersons’ support for the committee’s requests. The committee also pointed out that the charter was still very much a work-in-progress in terms of issues related to the defence of Spanish cinema, like the cultural exception.
The Committee also met with Spain’s deputy prime-minister and minister for the economy Rodrigo Rato, and the minister for culture, Pilar del Castillo, requesting that the Spanish government come out against any liberalisation of the audiovisual market during the forthcoming GATT talks.

(Translated from Italian)