One of the main points being discussed by members of the many Coalitions is the constant need to move from theory to practice. How are things progressing in this front?
Geraldo Moraes: Indeed, this is one of the Federation’s and the Coalition’s main concerns. In other to address this issue we are undertaking a series of actions. The first one relates to the approval of the UNESCO Convention. We are working so that this document becomes an effective instrument in promoting diversity and starts to be taken seriously during the negotiations of bilateral or multilateral treaties. The Convention has the potential of setting the international legal basis in the field of culture in the future. The second is the need to promote effective political action within each country, with the goal of regulating the local market to ensure a place for the national productions. Each country should find its own way of achieving this objective with the assistance of the Coalitions. The third and final action is the systematization of spaces that are not presently part of the conventional market, increasing the possible showcasing venues and ensuring continuity to the production effort.

What’s the role being played by new media in this process?
GM – The digital revolution that we are presently going through is fundamental in this process. The multiplication of “windows” that allow us to showcase our work is contributing to an increase in the number of independent productions. Nowadays, you can consider each computer a movie screen, and every cell phone is at the same time a recording and displaying device, that can be used almost anywhere. This grassroots process is irreversible and it’ll lead to the decentralization of cultural production and ultimately to a greater respect for local cultures and identities. In this context, The Coalitions act as liaisons between the many different productions. The idea that gave birth to the Coalitions emerged from an opposition to the expansion of American culture in other countries.

How’s the discussion going in this front?
GM – It’s important to realize that at first it was natural that this position existed. It was not a reaction against the United States or against American artists, but against the policies that were being adopted by the US government. , the liberal policies and those of the American phonographic industries. This is an important issue when we consider that the US dominates great part of the world’s movie and music industries. Still, this concerns much more then countries that already have an organized cultural industry, this is not the case in most countries, however. Another point to consider is that we are now in a second phase, we’re now trying to shift focus from a fight against an invasion to a struggle for the promotion of cultural diversity.

The main thing is that we avoid repeating the same mistakes ourselves. And what mistakes are these?
GM – The worst one would be the reproduction of the American model. We Brazilians, for example, must resist the temptation of believing that our movie industry should dominate the Latin-American market. True diversity comes from a plurality of local productions. In Brazil we have this problem with our television. At the same time that the networks adopt a nationalistic speech, they don’t respect the regional differences and advocate a single cultural model for the whole country. It’s hypocritical. The defense of diversity is not limited to the defense of a national identity against others. The real struggle is against cultural monopolies, against the commercialization of cultural goods.