On July 7, 2021, the newly created Public Council at State Film Agency of Ukraine held regular meeting. The representative of Ukrainian Media League (UML) Tetiana Ilchuk joined the Public Council at State Film Agency and took part in the regular meeting. On the agenda presented issues that require an urgent response from the proactive public and industry in the film industry. Thus, were considered issues in copyright protection area, pitching, keeping state registers, the Convention on co-production in version 2.0, etc.
The Public Council received an appeal regarding the protection of copyright, in particular, in the case against HBO regarding the serial product “Chernobyl”. The appeal emphasized the improper use of copyright objects from newsreels, including on this topic, which violates the rights of the state of Ukraine. According to the applicant, during the production of the serial product “Chernobyl” the HBO company did not receive permission to use the materials of the documentary film and other rights holders. Right now, the rights holders have united in order to prepare a position for a proper pre-trial settlement of a possible dispute.
A separate block of problems raised for discussion by the Public Council at State Film Agency was the compliance and effectiveness of the procedures and rules for holding creative contests for the selection of film projects (pitching) for the further provision of state support in the field of cinematography. Attention was focused on the imperfection of the rules, procedures and organization of pitching, in particular, the disproportionality of the number of works and the time of their examination; transparency and ambiguity of project evaluation criteria, formation of a pool of experts for project evaluation, technical and substantive criteria for their selection, as well as timeliness of announcement of all stages of the competition for their proper conduct.
Based on the results of the discussions, it was decided to send an appeal to the State Film Agency with relevant proposals and recommendations. Also, the Public Council initiates the creation of a working group on the improvement of pitching procedures and rules, where the approaches of all interested parties, including State Film Agency, industry, civil society institutions, will be accumulated.
A question introduced to State Film Agency regarding the stage at which the creation of an electronic pitching office is, in particular for applicants, experts, and the introduction of an electronic system for fixing grades. The Agency’s representative reported that the corresponding electronic cabinets are at the stage of development with the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and it is planned to complete them by the end of 2021.
The issue of optimizing the maintenance of the List (register) of films for which the state certificate of State Film Agency was issued and the problems arising with proper access to information were also discussed. A representative of State Film Agency was invited to the discussion, who noted that active preparation for the development and implementation of electronic rental certificates is currently underway. The Public Council will turn to the State Film Agency with recommendations regarding the inclusion of the issue of developing an electronic database (register) of rental licenses in the work plan for the period 2021-2022, as well as the need to compile old and updated registers.
In addition, the meeting discussed the issue of Ukraine’s adoption and ratification of the European Convention on Joint Cinematographic Production (Version 2.0). It is planned that the Civic Council will join in supporting Convention 2.0. within the framework of the ratification procedures in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The full minutes of the meeting of the Public Council from July 7, 2021 are available on the State Film Agency official website . According to the approved work schedule, the next regular meeting of the Public Council under State Cinema is scheduled for October 6, 2021.
The State Film Agency of Ukraine (State Film Agency) is the central authority that implements state policy in film and cinematography areas. The activities of State Fil, Agency are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The Public Council at State Film Agency is a consultative and advisory body established to promote realisation the constitutional right to participate in the state affairs management; implementation of public control over Agency activities; facilitating the consideration of public opinion during the formation and implementation of state policy.
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