Cinema and audiovisual media

 Survey on National Cinematography: Summary

The gathered data and additional information sources allowed to establish three main film producing countries categories which reflects common characteristics for trade and industry.

The largest producers, between an yearly average above 200 film features are India (839), China and Hong-Kong RAS (469), the Philippines (456), United States of America (385) and Japan. (238)

They are followed by 25 countries producing between 20 and 199 films equally representing Europe and Asia, although including Brazil (86), Argentina (47) and Nigeria. (20)

72 other countries produced in average between one and 19 films and finally 88 countries out of a total of 185, have not cinematography industry at all.

The list of large film exporters coincide with the main producers which controls by at large the international trade. The Hollywood studios have a worldwide share of 85 %, with peaks above 90 % in some European and Latin American countries, while India, Philippines and Hong-Kong SAR output reaches percentages of 95 % market shares in their own continent, South America and Africa.

Only the first category of large producing countries has a positive trade balance. The other national markets depend fully on importation. Driven by market forces, the large producers do not guarantee in itself a programming diversity and average and incidental producing countries, despite forceful public grants, do not export sufficient national productions to ensure alone a cross-border pluralistic supply.

If the film industry depends on variables like the country wealth, its population and urban concentration, in most countries legal protection seems to be more determinant than the existence of public funding schemes.

These legal and economic constraints will evolve slowly. Although cultural diversity through cinema might be greatly stimulated by increasing public demand for quality films and by specific measures aimed to increase independent productions. For low producing countries with a GNP under 1,200 US $ or a HDI rate less than 0.600 is unlikely that a cinematography industry might develop in the coming years. That is why several developing countries have developed creative national policies addressed to encourage the production and distribution of moving images supported by new technologies, video but also digital systems.

Supporting cultural and artistic creativity through audiovisuals is unavoidable, and stimulating the international exchange of moving images is an absolute condition to maintain a responsible level of pluralistic supply. Nowadays only three main world languages appears with enough visibility in the trade statistics: They are the English, French and Hindustani languages, while Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese or Spanish amounting 40 % of the entire world population are underrepresented.

In November '99 the third round on commerce negotiations started in Seattle under the guidance of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the coming months these international negotiations on cultural services and goods, where audiovisuals and cinema are registered, will confront largely different national views and policies.

Cinema is needed to boost cultural identity, but on the other hand it represent a large industrial sector and huge trade interests. In an average producing country like France 0.1 % -about 10.000- of the active population is working in the film industry. In the United States of America 3.5 million people are employed in the billions of dollars earning 'core copyright business'. Where some European countries are offering 90 % funding to their national producers, even 100 % in the case of Ireland, the World Trade Organization is suggesting only a ceiling of 5 %.

Professional associations are already creating international platforms and networks aimed to keep abreast of these international legal developments. None of them seems to challenge the idea of a legal framework regulating the exponential growing trade. But should cultural goods be treated like any other merchandise? Their intrinsic artistic and social values should be protected, specially in the case of cinema and audiovisuals, as they are the main vehicle for cultural expression.

Like it has been so often the case in the long history of the book print industry, nowadays cinema professionals, directors, producers, authors, actors and technicians alike should give advise and direction to their governments in negotiating a treaty which shall preserve local cinema production and guarantee a diversified supply of moving images.

A spread view on this issue is that what so ever the regulations are, technology advances, and specially telecommunications, will make it suit obsolete. Therefore what should be guarantee are free-market mechanisms.

Last update 02/10/01