Between February 6th and 8th, 2024, the AVACI Board of Directors meeting took place in the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
The International Confederation of Audiovisual Authors (AVACI), comprised of screenwriters and directors from all five continents, was founded in 2020 by the Federation of Latin American Audiovisual Authors (FESAAL), later joined by South Korea, Africa, India, and various European societies. During these days, the members were able to discuss different aspects of the organization and its objectives.
The local societies Directores de Colombia (DASC) and Red Colombiana de Escritores (REDES) served as hosts for this important meeting in the beautiful city of Cartagena de Indias, which has been repeatedly chosen to host such events by audiovisual organizations from both Latin America and around the world.
Cartagena de Indias has been home to one of the oldest and most prestigious international film festivals in Latin America for several decades, where the most important films from around the world, along with their directors and artists, are annually celebrated and awarded.
Attendees' Voices
During these working days, crucial topics for AVACI were discussed. Here are some of the most important concepts expressed by the authorities of the societies who were present in Cartagena de Indias.
"It is very important what has been achieved by FESAAL and AVACI over the years of struggle. It is very relevant for us that this meeting takes place here in Cartagena, Colombia. We must remain very firm in the fight for the rights of authors and the establishment of new audiovisual author societies worldwide," said the Secretary General of DASC, Camila Loboguerrero, a film director and one of the hosts.
Another host, screenwriter and director Alexandra Cardona Restrepo, President of the Red Colombiana de Escritores (Redes), stated, "For authors, the existence of AVACI is fundamental. Some people do not know how important it is and what is defined in these meetings."
The screenwriter and film director, current President of AVACI, Klemen Dvornik, President of AIPA (Slovenia), said, "Authors' rights go beyond organizations. AVACI encourages organizations to improve and also improve working conditions for authors."
Argentine director and screenwriter Horacio Maldonado, General Secretary of DAC/FESAAL/AVACI, affirmed: "We want to maintain solidarity on the roadmap we have worked on, generating new management societies and the importance of changing laws. It is the spirit and philosophy of the group that founded AVACI."
Dominik Skoczek, Executive Director of ZAPA (Poland) and Member of AVACI's Legal and Technical Committee, highlighted, "In Poland, we have very good legislation, representing many categories of authors, but we do not have the possibility to collect from platforms, so we need AVACI's support."
Director Yoon Jung Lee, Vice President of DGK (South Korea) and 1st Vice President of AVACI, emphasized the importance of traveling from Seoul to Cartagena to recharge her values. "It is fundamental that as many directors as possible can witness this to maintain their hopes. These associations cannot grow alone. Many fall by the wayside, so continuous motivation is needed. Our duty is to continue keeping directors interested. We receive constant help from AVACI; with our effort alone, it is not enough. It is very important how DGK has changed since we received support from other societies."
Laza Razanajatovo, director and screenwriter, President of APASER (Africa), and Institutional Coordinator of AVACI, stated that "with APASER, we can demonstrate the capacity and potential of the African continent, and I am interested in demonstrating it within the framework of AVACI. APASER received the equivalent of the license to collect and distribute; we are active in about 20 countries today. That is why I am happy to meet with people so passionate about the topic. Due to the current political situation, we have not been able to do what we wanted, but we have been able to establish our office where many people work. AVACI was the solution for us, the opportunity to solve several problems in the audiovisual field in Africa; the authors of the continent know they can count on us."
Meanwhile, Gregor Stibernik, Executive Director of AIPA in Slovenia, mentioned that "the Serbian organization is going to ask to be a member of AVACI. Authors from Macedonia also had several meetings with us, and we are hopeful to add them to AVACI soon."
