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LEGISLATION Europe

Bolkestein directive: Concerns for Belgian cinema

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Supported by the Minister of Culture and the Audiovisual of the French-speaking community, Fadilaa Laanan, Belgian film industry professionals – including directors, producers and distributors – yesterday made a plea to European MPs, requesting them to protest against the Bolkestein directive.

Adopted on February 15 by European ministers, the directive, which aims at reducing barriers to the free circulation of services within Europe (see news), excluded the cinema and audiovisual sector from its scope. However, in the latest version of the directive, approved by Ministers of Economy on May 29, the term “cinema” has been replaced by the term “filmmaking services”. No explanation for the change has been provided as yet.

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Minister Laanan highlighted her concern by saying, "We are asking if this was intentional on the part of the European Commission and the Austrian presidency of not wanting to exclude every sector of cinema from the scope of the directive." Terms are being changed, and the directive may even put certain film industries at risk. One industry directly affected is post-production, and in turn the numerous state funding programmes from which this sector benefits.

This explains the concern of professionals. "Making a film is not the same as talking about something in terms of abstract interest. And if we have to, from one day to the next, start working with Polish mixers, it would obviously be much more complicated for the director,” said a frank Stephan Liberski, the Belgian director of Bunker Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefan Liberski
film profile
]
.

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(Translated from French)

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