Audiovisual Creators from around Asia-Pacific, gathered last October 8, in the city of Busan, South Korea, in the framework of the Busan International Film Festival, for the official launch of the Alliance of Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Writers and Directors (AAPA).
With the support received from the KOMCA – Korea Music Copyright Association, together with JASRAC – Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers – a new meeting of the Asia-Pacific Alliance (AAPA) was held, in the city of Busan, South Korea, on October 8th.
Film Director Min Kyu Dong, the Chairman of DGK is elected as the Spokesperson for the AAPA. During the meeting, there were exchanges of current status of copyright protection in Asia-Pacific Countries and Territories and discussion about the lobbying strategy to improve the copyright protection. AAPA core group members have discussed to recruit Patrons to support their activities.
Busan, South Korea, 8 October 2019 – Audiovisual creators from around Asia-Pacific gathered today in South Korea at the Busan International Film Festival for the official launch of the Alliance of Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Writers and Directors (AAPA).
The alliance’s mission is to become the voice for Asia-Pacific audiovisual creators. It will be a platform for audiovisual creators to share, connect and communicate, advocate for stronger author’s rights protections and further their interests in Asia-Pacific.
Asia-Pacific is a global powerhouse for audiovisual production and creators, with 5 of the top 10 box office markets and 4 of the top 10 countries by number of feature films. The ability for this industry to thrive is dependent on creators, including screenwriters and directors, and protecting their rights. In many countries such as Colombia, Chile and Brazil, these protections have been secured through copyright legislation to bring fair remuneration to creators.
Korean director of Parasite and winner of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or award Bong Joon-ho says: “Creators rightfully deserve fair remuneration. Let’s work together to implement a proper system”.
AAPA will support creators by lobbying for new legislation and enforcing laws. This includes legislation to end the unfair treatment of directors and screenwriters by recognising them as authors of audiovisual works. The new alliance will campaign for remuneration right for audiovisual creators, which seeks to ensure an unwaivable economic right to be fairly remunerated for the use of their works, managed collectively by collective management organisations.
AAPA was first conceived in May 2019 at the CISAC General Assembly by the Directors Guild of Japan (DGJ), Writers Guild of Japan (WGJ), Australian Directors Guild (ADG), Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society (ASDACS), Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS), Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGZN), Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) with support from W&DW, Latin American Audiovisual Directors Alliance (ADAL) and Pan-African Alliance of Screenwriters and Directors (APASER).
