“Collectively, we will find the strength to negotiate better conditions for authors”

María Fernanda Mendoza, International Agreements Manager at Directores México, and Ivanov Orellana, the Mexican entity’s Systems Coordinator, visited Argentina and received training at DAC and ARGENTORES on collective management tools applied to the administration, collection and distribution of rights. In an interview with AV Creators News, they reviewed the main challenges facing the management of directors’ rights in Mexico, the need to expand collections to digital platforms and the importance of international cooperation.

By Ulises Román Rodríguez

Mexico is undergoing a process of updating its film legislation which, according to María Fernanda Mendoza, responds to a historic demand from the national industry. “It is a law that was already owed to the sector,” she says. The new legislation incorporates incentives for national production through mechanisms such as Eficine and Fidecine and establishes conditions for projects to access those funds. “It can have a foreign co-producer, but in principle it must have a national base. Those are the ones that can participate in these windows,” Mendoza explains.

The legislation also seeks to guarantee the presence of Mexican films in cinemas: “Cinemas say: ‘It’s a Mexican film, there isn’t much demand, almost nobody comes.’ No: by law you have to keep it on the program for two weeks.” Digital platforms, however, are still outside this legislation. “We are talking about pure and simple cinematography, that is, movie theaters. The platforms are still not considered as such.”

At the same time, Mexico amended its Federal Author’s Rights Law to protect performers’ and artists’ voices and images against unauthorized use of artificial intelligence. “It is a way of protecting all voice artists, announcers, dubbing artists and actors so that these figures, these avatars, these artificial intelligence images that can cause displacement or remove them from the market are not generated.” Mendoza explains that this amendment was one of the main demands raised by voice artists over the past year and was ultimately approved by Congress.

Growing outward

Directores México is one of Mexico’s oldest collective management organizations. It was created out of the Union of Workers of the Film Industry and currently has 680 members, according to Ivanov Orellana. For decades, the organization developed much of its activity around the domestic market, accompanying the enormous tradition of Mexican cinema and its circulation throughout Latin America. For Mendoza, the international growth of Mexican filmmakers has opened up a new challenge: “The great boom of Mexican filmmakers is about twenty years old, with Iñárritu and Cuarón arriving in Hollywood. So, we grew inward, and now we have to worry about growing outward, not only collecting from abroad, but also distributing abroad.”

One of the main objectives is to expand collection to new forms of audiovisual exploitation. “We have to improve our collection and distribution system, and expand collection from the exploitation of cinematographic works on the different platforms that exist today.” Currently, Directores México collects from television and cinema, but does not yet receive royalties from digital platforms.

–What is the current situation with those negotiations?

–As of today, we do not collect from any platform. We are negotiating with some of them, which already pay in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Chile. We have had to sit down and negotiate, and that is where we are now.

The organization also seeks to expand management to other areas in which works are exploited, from flights to ground passenger transportation. “In Mexico, for example, almost all regional urban transportation lines show films. And they are not paying today.”

But the challenge is not only to expand collection. Directores México is also working to bring directors who are not yet part of collective management into the system.

–What happens with Mexican directors who are not yet represented?

–One of the organization’s tasks is to inform authors about their rights, especially directors of series and telenovelas, who have often been given the idea that, by signing with a producer or television company, they lose their right to receive royalties for the exploitation of their works. It is a non-waivable right under the law. It does not matter if you have signed that; such a clause would be null and void. You have the right to collect for the exhibition of your work, regardless of whether the producer may hold the economic rights. Every time your work is exhibited, you have the right to receive a royalty.

Expanding the membership base also means convincing those authors who believe that the amounts currently collected are too small to justify joining a collective management organization. For Mendoza, the answer lies in the strength of collective organization: “Right now we are paying little, but the idea is for you to come and help us grow the membership base, grow the catalog, and we will be able to collect more, which means you benefit.” She adds: “Only collectively will we find the strength to negotiate not only this, but also legislative changes, improvements in the conditions of the film industry and of authors.”

Training at DAC and ARGENTORES

The visit to Argentina had among its objectives learning how other organizations operate and finding tools that could contribute to Directores México’s development. “I think that basically, both of us have come to learn,” Mendoza explains.

In her case, one of the main areas of interest was related to determining rates and the criteria used to establish distribution systems. “Many times users in Mexico do not deny you the right, but they disagree with the amount. To arrive at that amount, you have to have elements that allow you to determine why you are going to charge what you want to charge; and those are the things I am interested in learning at DAC.”

Among the topics discussed was the weighting parameters used in the distribution system: “For example, ‘you don’t pay the same for a film as you do for an episode of a series.’ These are elements that will allow us to determine more or less fair, reasonable rates, so that you can sit down with a user and have enough arguments to defend what you want to charge.”

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AVSYS, a tool to strengthen management

For Ivanov Orellana, Directores México’s Systems Coordinator, one of the main interests of the visit was learning about AVSYS, the open-source operating system, free of charge for member organizations of the International Confederation of Audiovisual Authors (AVACI). The tool makes it possible to centralize the different tasks involved in the administration and management of audiovisual rights, from identifying authors and works to administration, collection and distribution.

“In my case, it is about learning a little about the integration of your AVSYS management system, which is practically the only one of its kind, so that it can help us with the complete administration and management of Directores México, which is where we currently have a problem: making it easier for us to carry out identification, administration, collection and payments,” Orellana says.

DAC’s experience is particularly relevant for Directores México at a time when the organization is seeking to expand its management capacity and incorporate new technological tools. “That is precisely why we have come to learn how it works, what parameters it uses, where it originated,” he explains.

The international dimension is another central pillar for the Mexican organization. For Mendoza, cooperation between societies is essential because audiovisual works constantly circulate across different territories.

–Why is the participation of audiovisual authors in international organizations such as AVACI and FESAAL important?

–Because collective management can only be effective to the extent that you move from the national to the international level. You can be very good at managing things within your own country, but we know that works no longer stop at borders. Works travel.

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Cooperation makes it possible to establish representation agreements while also sharing experiences and knowledge. “The larger or more advanced organizations are the ones that open the way so that those that are just starting out do not have to repeat mistakes.” For Mendoza, “the only way to guarantee the protection of your members’ rights is to make agreements with sister international organizations.”

Within this framework, strengthening Directores México is also part of a regional challenge. The International Agreements Manager considers it essential for authors to join collective management organizations in their own countries in order to consolidate national entities capable of establishing relationships with their counterparts abroad.

–What message would you give to a Mexican director who is not yet part of a collective management organization?

–Think about how easy it is to tear one sheet of paper. Now think: is it easy to tear one hundred sheets of paper together? That is what belonging to a collective management organization means.

For Mendoza, the difference is particularly clear when an author has to negotiate individually with large companies: “If you, as an author, go to negotiate with Televisa or TV Azteca, they will tell you, ‘I’ll pay you this, take it or leave it.’ But if an organization stands behind you and says, ‘you have to pay this amount because that is what is fair,’ then it is no longer the author who has to negotiate.”

The ultimate goal is for authors to be able to focus on their creative work. “The author creates or gets paid. What collective management organizations do is work on your behalf to defend your rights, your interests, and to ensure that every day you have better conditions to continue doing what you love, which is creating works.”

Mendoza extends this perspective to Latin America as a whole and highlights the situation in Central America, where there are still no collective management organizations for audiovisual works. “It is not that they do not have creators: they have no way of sustaining themselves. If we create a strong and large community in Latin America, we can help other organizations emerge in our countries.”