Last Wednesday, September 29, the first seminar of GEDAR (Authors’ Rights Management of Screenwriters) was performed virtually under the title “The current scenario of the audiovisual market for Authors and Screenwriters and the importance of the collective management of rights.” The event, closed to invited Screenwriters and Writers, was attended by Sylvia Palma – Secretary General of GEDAR -, Marcílio Moraes – Screenwriter and President of GEDAR-, Miguel Ángel Diani - Screenwriter and President of ARGENTORES-, Alexandra Cardona Restrepo - Screenwriter, Audiovisual Director and President of REDES-, Horacio Maldonado -Audiovisual Director and Secretary General of DAC and FESAAL-, Maíra Oliveira -President of ABRA- and by other members of the Latin American audiovisual community, such as the legal counselors Adriana Saldarriaga, Germán Gutiérrez, Paula Vergueiro, Luis Mangiavillano, who are part of the Legal and Technical Committee of FESAAL, and by creators such as Martin Salinas and Santiago Fernández Calvete. The society in charge of the collection and management of authors’ rights from Brazilian Audiovisual Authors completed five years of existence and carried out this seminar as a celebration. In spite of the fact that Brazil is in an unfavorable political situation concerning the fulfilment of rights for Audiovisual Authors, and for culture workers in general, this seminar constituted a historic moment in which the authorities of GEDAR made a symbolic distribution on behalf of the one hundred Brazilian Authors, who are beneficiaries of the remuneration for the exhibition of their creations in Argentina and Colombia, through the societies Argentores and REDES, respectively. It is important to highlight that Brazilian Screenwriters still do not receive the remuneration for authors’ rights they are entitled to for the broadcasting of their works in their own country. A collection coming from other Latin American countries through an international collective management sets a strong precedent for Screenwriters of the entire region.
The President of GEDAR, Marcílio Moraes, directly addressed the authorities of big streamers, asserting that “one of the most important purposes of this Seminar was to group professional screenwriters together in order to propose them (and here I am talking to the leaders of Netflix, Rede Globo, Amazon, Rede Record, HBO, and all the other audiovisual exhibition platforms) to start negotiations immediately to implement the payment in Brazil for the public exhibition of works in favor of Screenwriters, and of Directors and Creators, of course. The justice of this right is evident,” he claimed before declaring the intention of the community of Audiovisual Authors to “participate in the destination of the works we write, whether they are modest or successful.” “We rely on the good will and common sense of the gentlemen,” he concluded. During the different tables of the seminar, speakers discussed the importance of societies in charge of the collective management of rights for the audiovisual community, the experiences of different Latin American countries concerning management, the current market configuration, the role of streaming platforms and their contracting forms, the current legislative and contractual situation in different countries, the buyout clause, the public communication of Audiovisual Works, the support of Latin American social entities, and the next goals of the group, among other topics. On the other hand, the reading of the manifesto “The word of the Screenwriter” was performed, which is the result of a campaign where more than 30 professionals participated, among them, Anna Muylaert, David França Mendes, Di Moretti, Duca Rachid, Fábio Danesi, João Ximenes Braga, Maria Adelaide Amaral, Melanie Dimantas, Paula Richard, Paulo Halm, Ricardo Linhares, Ricardo Hofstetter, Rosane Svartman and Thelma Guedes. The document sets out the situation of inequality that Audiovisual Authors face in the distribution of authors’ rights for the public exhibition of their works, and it was signed by the management societies GEDAR - Authors’ Rights Management of Screenwriters -, ABRA – Brazilian Association of Authors Screenwriters -, Argentores – General Society of Argentine Authors -, FESAAL – Latin American Audiovisual Authors Societies Federation -, AVACI – Audiovisual Authors International Confederation -, DAC – General Association of Audiovisual and Film Authors and Directors -, and REDES – Colombian Network of Audiovisual Writers.