42^nd Art Matters Forum

Athens, Greece, Friday, October 30, 2009, in Athens.

I must confess that, as a filmmaker and writer, I am especially pleased to open this forum and dialogue with you today, here in Athens.

For over 20 years, film has allowed me to go where I would never have ventured were I not making films to tell stories, to provoke thought by exploring identities, nationalisms, exile, revolutions, the relationship between artist and politics, freedom, but also to denounce barbarism, intolerance, racism, exclusion. The films I make—documentary film in particular—are as essential to me as oxygen; they are my philosopher’s staff, that Socratic tool par excellence, one that aids in the search for the Other, for openness, knowledge and sharing with audiences.

Having germinated in France in the shadow of the philosophy I taught, in the shadow of theatre, radio, criticism and theoretical reflection, the filmmaker in me flourished in Canada, particularly in Quebec, where I put down roots 30 years ago. These past 30 years have been vitally important for me, certainly, but they have also shaped the evolution of our cinematography, institutions and knowledge, in terms of both the creation of our works and their production and distribution.

I was part of every battle waged over those years, and at times part of the defeats. Professional battles to ensure respect for artisans in the film industry and for writers in particular; institutional battles for funding policies, relationships with television, the specific development of documentary film through the creation of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal in 1997, which I chaired until 2005 and which is celebrating its 12^th anniversary in a few days. I could go on, but I have no doubt that my Greek colleagues are more than familiar with the situation.

This is yet another reason why during today’s discussion, we should examine the state of our respective film industries and  look at the current situation, of course, in light of our pasts, but especially look to the future before globalization decides for us how it will play out.

The fact is the global technological changes affecting our production, filmmaking and distribution methods are heightening the urgency for reflection and united, planet-wide actions on the part of creators and artisans of the film industry.

At this time, new distribution platforms are changing how we connect with audiences. We are just starting to see the impact that these dramatic changes are having on civil society, political life and culture.

New technologies are enabling non-professionals and virtual unknowns to produce perfectly usable—and distributable—digital content whose image, sound, graphic, video and text quality rivals the production quality that in the past was achieved only by specialists.

So we can see that new technologies and platforms are having a real impact on production and distribution processes that were once the exclusive domain of professionals.

Today, digital content can be reproduced at nominal cost and disseminated instantly, worldwide. We cannot escape the fact that funding, creation, production and distribution models for film and documentaries in particular need a short-term review and restructuring.

The relationship between the creator, his or her work, and the spectator is undergoing a radical change.

Technically, it is true that innovations are happening in the blink of an eye. Digital is growing globally, and analog will soon disappear from our screens. 3D will radically change our perception of images. High-definition is gaining ground, and most homes already have digital entertainment centres. Downloading is increasingly changing the habits of those who purchase images and sound, such that the film experience of our fathers could become a relic of the past.

It is true that the mobile culture of iPods, iPTV, iTV and Mobisode is revolutionizing the way we receive and use films. Portable media are not only wireless, they are also disconnected from time and space. Spectators are no longer “captives” of movie theatres or their living rooms. They can watch what they want, wherever and whenever they want.

It is clear in Canada and even beyond our borders that television, for its part, has no choice but to form an alliance with the Web if it wants to maintain its relationship with the public and its influence on future generations. 

I think a television-Web partnership could bring new life to film and to documentary filmmaking in particular. We can already see this happening: in Canada, the National Film Board launched its new Web site last Saturday that is set to stream more than one thousand films, including films formatted specifically for the iPhone. Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to access many Greek documentaries via greece-online.org. To this, however, I would add that it is much easier to see Greek documentaries on the Web than works of fiction, which is particularly unfortunate given that they are only rarely shown in Canadian theatres. Fortunately, film festivals continue to give moviegoers the opportunity to see foreign films that otherwise would not make it into theatres that favour blockbusters in our respective countries.

We have reached the point where we have to re-examine how we respect cultural diversity, administer rights and protect the works themselves.

We therefore urgently need to invent new ways of accommodating and funding film while protecting its uniqueness as a creative work. Because today, the ability to create images is more widespread than ever, to the point that it is almost commonplace. Those referred to as pro-ams (professional amateurs) are increasingly present on the Web. This is a reality that is having a significant impact how images are written, presented and consumed. In order to show works to people who are accustomed to new aesthetics, will film professionals be forced to unlearn how to create images?

In short, the Internet and digital revolutions call into question how content is produced, written and distributed. On the whole, they challenge our relationship with the image, with images, with the imaginary and, in the case of documentary film, with what is true and what is false, with truth and lies.

In the current context, Greeks and Canadians certainly have much in common and much to learn from one another. How are images, works of fiction, documentaries being produced, distributed and consumed in Greece? In Canada? What are your thoughts? What relationships currently exist between Greeks and Canadians through co-productions, the distribution of our films, festivals? What types of exchanges would we like to see? What types of solidarities are we developing or could we develop?