The Instituto Autor publishes the 'Legal Guide to Film Financing in Spain'

The guide, which was born as a tool to help professionals make decisions aimed at completing their projects, has been structured under two parameters: the financing that currently exists in Spain and the clarification of the main legal concepts used in the sector.

Helping authors, audiovisual producers and all those who want to undertake a cinematographic adventure, in the simplest and most profitable way possible, are the objectives of the Legal Guide to Film Financing in Spain, published by the Instituto de Autor. This didactic and informative nature extends throughout the work, directed by Franz Ruz and coordinated by Javier Sabido, from the consulting firm Rooter.

Prepared between 2010 and the first half of 2011, the guide, “subject to constant changes and adaptations”, has been structured under two parameters: the financing that currently exists in Spain and the clarification of the main legal concepts used in the sector. Adriana Moscoso, coordinator of the Author Institute, during the presentation of the work, stated: “we are going to edit the guide in digital format in order to be able to update the contents quickly and make it available on the web of the Institute." Moscoso has stressed the pedagogical nature of the initiative: "Starting in September we will begin to provide online training courses related to this audiovisual guide."

In practice, the publication addresses the aid and subsidies granted in Spain, the different international co-production programs, the operation of private investment or sponsorships, among other lines of support for the audiovisual sector. “We have analyzed the different financing models that currently exist for those workers in the audiovisual sector,” explained Franz Ruz.

From the point of view of regulations, the guide includes the set of legal measures that are applied in cinema at the regional and state level, as well as those agreements and laws that regulate the relations between our country and the international environment.

Turn utopia into reality

In short, a work that aims to contribute to the development of the audiovisual industry in Spain with the aim of being a useful instrument for those who dedicate themselves to cinema. In this sense, Gonzalo Ezpondaburu, manager of SG Audiovisual, has indicated that "we want the authors to have direct knowledge of the audiovisual field so that an idea does not remain a mere utopia and moves forward."

A good example of these cases is that of Tina Olivares (Albacete, 1970), who self-produced her first feature film, Waiting for September, released last February. The Castilian-La Mancha scriptwriter and director explained that "self-production implies that the author must also be a businessman, something that is complicated. Therefore, projects such as the creation of an audiovisual guide constitute a useful tool for us, the creators." Olivares added that "in my case I did not ask for public aid. I paid for the film with my own money and went to the SGAE, which helps authors more than people believe."

In the prologue to the Legal Guide to Film Financing in Spain, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, president of the Buñuel Institute, states that cinema is “creativity, talent and imagination”, and that, “in order to exist, cinema needs a series of practical tools that allow its materialization and its circulation in the market.” With this purpose, this work is conceived, the first publication by the Author Institute of a series of legal texts of a practical nature dedicated to the different branches of the cultural industries.