The Belarusian Ministry of Culture is going to take control of the film industry.
“Film production in the territory of the Republic of Belarus <…> is to be carried out with a certificate issued by the Ministry of Culture or its authorized organization (s) in accordance with the law on administrative procedures in the form prescribed by the Ministry of Culture,” said the draft decree of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Read more: Consent to be obtained for showing and shooting movies
A petition appealing Alyaksandr Lukashenka not to sign the decree has appeared on the Internet.
“The purpose of the decree is to support Belarusian filmmaking and tackling issues related to public funding of the cinema. However, the draft decree contains controversial items which are contrary to the declared purpose, as well as to other edicts and decrees,” the petition says.
The author lists the negative consequences that the Belarusian cinema might face in the event of adopting the decree as it is currently drafted.
“The authors of the draft decree have not listened to the voice of independent representatives of the Belarusian cinema community, small studios, film schools, festivals and young film directors. The decree will make Belarus less attractive to potential investors and foreign filmmakers. It cramps the development of student and low-budget filmmaking,” the petition reads.
“Inability to meet the conditions set in the decree, the need to pay duties, long discussions – all these factors will turn into a serious obstacle for young film directors’ making movies and contributing to the development of the national cinema. <…>The decree is aimed at creating more bureaucracy in the process of filmmaking,” the authors of the appeal state.
In their opinion, passing the draft decree will result in foreign filmmakers’ withdrawal from the Belarusian film market.
“The state does not guarantee the secrecy of a motion picture script and is not financially and legally liable for it. Therefore, in fear of leaks, major Russian and foreign cinematographers will completely opt out of filming in Belarus.”
