More than a dozen audiovisual associations come together to demand urgent measures for the sector

The specificities of audiovisual workers, such as work intermittency, the legal vacuum and deficiencies in the tax field, make it necessary to take concrete measures that should be addressed jointly by the Ministries of Culture and Sports, Finance and Labor.

The crisis caused by COVID-19 It has hit many unions and sectors hard, one of them being the cultural sector, in which audiovisual professionals are found. A truly vulnerable and fragile group, often invisible, but essential, and due to its specificities, such as work intermittency, the legal vacuum and deficiencies in the tax area, any crisis, especially one with these characteristics, can destroy and cause the foundations of the industry to shake.

For the first time, More than a dozen associations have decided to join together to raise their voices on behalf of all audiovisual groups.. Its objective is to ensure that they are taken into account when facing the management of the greatest health and economic crisis in memory in Spain, in Europe and in the entire world.

A crisis that, unfortunately, will worsen in the coming months. And the pandemic is showing that, although the measures and decrees that are being taken by the Government attest to its degree of commitment to our country, many of these measures are not applicable to the audiovisual sector. This is a sector that serves citizens in their leisure time and, therefore, this activity is often confused with something that comes after what is truly important.

Although far-reaching economic measures have been presented to alleviate the ravages of this health emergency in many areas, the sector associations consider that they have not been sufficiently specific, nor adequate to the professional and work reality.

By paralyzing the activity because it is considered “non-essential economic activity”, all cultural production in general and audiovisual production in particular is interrupted, but not its consumption. Paradoxically, without the consumption of culture in homes, confinement would be unbearable.

ACTION (Association of Film Directors); ADDP (Association of Advertising Directors); AEC (Spanish Association of Directors of Photography); AMAE (Association of Audiovisual Editors of Spain); AMMAC (Association of Editors and Audiovisual Editors of Catalonia); APPA (Association of Audiovisual Production Professionals); A.P.S.A. (Association of Audiovisual Sound Professionals); ATPE (Association of Advertising Technicians); DIRECT (Association of Television Fiction Directors); DOCMA (Documentary Film Association); and PNR (New Directors Platform), have written a manifesto with a series of proposals and measures thatthat could help calm the pressing paralysis of the sector.

This union represents thousands of workers who bring together both the big and the small. Most are accustomed to insecurity, but now the concern about how they will be able to move forward is pressing. Even so, during these weeks, this sector has demonstrated its solidarity by offering audiovisual content for free and disinterestedly. They wanted to send a message of hope that would allow society to gain strength and resist discouragement.

Culture, a basic necessity

This global crisis is revealing what the pillars of a society are based on and is demonstrating that culture is one of them. The sector cannot wait, it needs concrete measures that contribute to maintaining the business fabric and its professionals. We audiovisual workers were among the first to be affected, even before the state of alarm decree and, possibly, we will be among the last to return to normality.

The slowness in responding to the pressing needs of the entire business and professional fabric of the audiovisual sector can lead to irreversible deterioration and a catastrophe for thousands of families. Nor can we forget the professionals who were currently involved in projects without formal signed contracts and who in these dramatic circumstances cannot access any type of help or subsidy.

To prevent this from happening, these associations propose a series of immediate measures that should be addressed jointly by the Ministries of Labor, Finance and Culture and Sports to develop measures and solutions that adapt to our specificity.

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