THE EUROPEAN SCRIPWRITERS MANIFESTO NOV 2009

1. WORLD CONFERENCE OF SCRIPWRITERS telah diadakan di Athens, Greece pada 6-7 Nov 2009 lalu.Ianya telah dianjurkan oleh The Federation Of Screenwriters In Europe dan International Affiliation Of Writers Guild (IAWG) dengan sokongan penuh dari Ministry Of Tourism - Greek National Tourism Organisation dan The Greek National Film Centre (Hellenic Film Commission) dengan kerjasama Hellenic Audiovisual Institute.

2. Para penulis skrip di Malaysia patut mencontohi para penulis skrip di Eropah dimana mereka bersatu dalam memperjuangkan nasib dan memartabatkan profession mereka.

3. Screenwriters Association Of Malaysia (SWAM) dan FINAS mungkin boleh menganjurkan bentuk persidangan yang sama dengan mengusahakan sponsor bukan sahaja dari Kementerian Kebudayaan Dan Warisan (KEKWA) tapi mungkin juga dari Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kerajaan-Kerajaan Negeri. Malah syarikat swasta yang terlibat secara langsung dalam industri filem dan drama juga boleh membantu bagi menjayakan usaha ini sebagai tanda tanggungjawab sosial mereka kepada industri.

4. Saya sertakan di bawah ini manifesto yang telah diputuskan bersempena dengan penganjuran World Conference Of Scriptwriters di Athens itu tadi.

5. Moga kita semua terutamanya SWAM boleh mendapat idea untuk berbuat sesuatu bagi memartabatkan profession penulis skrip di negara ini. Maklumat lanjut boleh di perolehi di http://wcos.wordpress.com/

We assert that:

• The screenwriter is an author of the film, a primary creator of the audiovisual work.

• The indiscriminate use of the possessory credit is unacceptable.

• The moral rights of the screenwriter, especially the right to maintain the integrity of a work and to protect it from any distortion or misuse should be inalienable and should be fully honored in practice.

• The screenwriter should receive fair payment for every form of exploitation of his work.

• As author the screenwriter should be entitled to an involvement in the production process as well as in the promotion of the film and to be compensated for such work. As author he or she should be named in any publication accordingly, including festival catalogues, TV listing magazines and reviews.

We call on:

• National governments and funding agencies to support screenwriters by focusing more energy and resources, whether in form of subsidy, tax breaks or investment schemes, on the development stage of film and television production and by funding writers directly.

• Scholars and film critics to acknowledge the role of screenwriters , and universities, academies and training programmes to educate the next generations in accordance to the collaborative art of the medium and with respect towards the art and craft of screenwriting.

• Festivals, film museums and other institutions to name the screenwriters in their programs and plan and screen film tributes to screenwriters just as they do to directors, actors and countries.

• National and European law should acknowledge that the writer is an author of the film.

• National and European law should ensure that screenwriters can organise, negotiate and contract collectively, in order to encourage and maintain the distinct cultural identities of each country and to seek means to facilitate the free movement of writers in and between all nations.

We will:

• Distribute this manifesto to industry members and the press in our respective countries.

• Campaign for the implementation of the agenda defined by this manifesto.

• Seek the transition into national and European law of the legal changes demanded by this manifesto.