Film

"The goods and services derived from cultural industries are, by nature, vehicles of the expression of values, customs, languages, gastronomies, etc. This is the view of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which states that “cultural activities, goods and services have both an economic and a cultural nature, because they convey identities, values and meanings” (UNESCO, 2005, Preamble). Since its inception, cinema has been a major vehicle for the cultural expression of nations. This has been complemented from the middle of the last century by television. Feature films –the main industrial product of the sector –can be analysed based on various characteristics: film genres, aesthetics, languages used, ideas expressed, social sectors represented, patterns of behaviour, etc."

"The Preamble of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions reads, “Linguistic diversity is a fundamental element of cultural diversity” (UNESCO, 2005). Albornoz and García Leiva (2016) state that advocating linguistic diversity is an imperative for the international community, as every language reflects a one-of-a-kind vision of the world, with its own value system, its specific philosophy and its particular cultural characteristics. A language provides support to an identity and is an essential element of an irreplaceable cultural wealth. Feature films, as well as other cultural expressions, provide a channel of expression and dissemination for approximately 6,000 languages which are spoken in the world.11Asseveral studies have pointed out (Ranaivoson, 2007; UIS, 2011), diversity is a multidimensional concept. Stirling’s definition (1998, 2007) of diversity includes a combination of three components: variety, balance and disparity. Variety refers to the number of different categories defined; specifically for films, we may ask, how many languages can be identified in the cinematographic production of a country? Balance refers to the extent to which these categories are represented: what percentages of each language are used in films? And disparity refers to the degree of dissimilarity that exists between the different categories: how different are the languages used? Thus, the larger the number of categories and the more balanced and disparate the categories, the more diverse the system."

"As mentioned extensively by film industry experts, most of today’s film consumption is outside the traditional cinema circuit. Televisions, streaming media players, computers, tablets and smartphones are popular platforms for watching and enjoying feature films for a major portion of the world’s population. However, the theatrical release of a feature film continues to be a major effort vis-à-vis commercial exploitation in the rest of the film consumption windows (free-to-air and pay television, DVD, online platforms)."

"In 2012, the number of feature films greatly increased throughout the world, and the following year a new production record was hit: 7,610 movies. However, the sustained growth of global production during the 2005-2013 period has not undermined the weight of the main production countries: India, the United States, China, Japan and most Western European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain. This finding, in the attempt to analyse the diversity of sources, reveals a high degree of concentration of production in the economic superpowers and in some of the most heavily-populated countries of the world. A special case in point is India, the country with the second-largest population, and the number-one film making country, which is experiencing a major growth in production. India produced 1,041 movies in 2005 to 1,724 movies in 2013. The number of feature films produced in 2013, mostly with digital technology and at multiple sites, represented over one-fifth of worldwide production. International feature film co-productions, driven by the public sector and private production companies, were common in some countries of Western Europe and the United States. France had the largest number of co-productions in the 2012-2013 biennium. Production companies view co-productions with companies from other countries as a means of taking advantage of the film making grant programmes of various countries and of extending the reach of films. Increased production does not necessarily lead to a better and larger dissemination of films. The dominant positions of the U.S. majors in many markets directly impact the diversity offered,i.e.what content reaches the screens and how. For instance, the European space, comprising countries with a prominent tradition for production, repeatedly expresses the lack of reach of its feature films across borders . Most countries have monolingual (in their respective official languages) or bilingual film production. Again, India stands out for the wide spectrum of local languages in its movies, none of which has a share over 17%. In countries with multilingual film production, there are one or several drivers for this: a historical presence of different social groups within the country and/or large migrant groups, geo-cultural proximity with companies speaking other languages, and the development of strategies for commercial penetration in new markets, among others. Dubbing policies implemented by countries are unfavourable for the recognition of languages other than those of the place where foreign films are screened."

"According to the three categories in the UIS 2014 Questionnaire on Feature Film Statistics, there is a clear pre-eminence of fiction feature films versus documentaries and animation movies. Additionally, all countries offering information on the production of fiction, animation and documentary feature films show a clear imbalance among the categories. There is a strong geographic concentration of the revenues from the commercial screening of feature films in theatres. The top 10 markets, led by the United States/Canada, China and Japan, held three-fourths of global revenues during the 2012-2013 period. China, the most heavily-populated country in the world, is seeing a sustained increase in its gross box office for feature films in theatres (in 2013, it exceeded US$3.6billion). It appears that the world’s second film market in terms of gross box office is ready to overcome, in the near future, the stagnated market of the United States/Canada. India, with average ticket prices well below those prevailing in the top revenue markets, is the top country in terms of volume of tickets sold. In 2012, Indian theatres received more theatre goers than the United States, China and Japan together. Even though there are noticeable differences between countries and inside countries at the global level during 2012 and 2013, the average price of theatre tickets continued to grow. The 2005-2013 period saw an increase of 40% in the average ticket price. The most popular feature films watched in theatres in 2012 and 2013 confirm a very high concentration of consumption of blockbusters produced (or co-produced) and distributed by U.S. majors. They are mostly action/adventure movies, some with animation techniques, targeting children and adolescents, supported by multi-million budgets and international advertising campaigns. As has been the case in recent years, mass consumption of feature films in theatres has favoured the franchises of various series and bringing to the big screen stories that were originally created as [[comics."

"The international filmmaking industry faces some shortcomings regarding diversity in its sources, some of the characteristics of films made and the majority consumption of feature films. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen and renew some public policies and civil society strategies with the aim to strengthen diversity in (and of) the filmmaking industry. Policies should address the complex and changing relationship of the film industry with the audiovisual sector and cultural industries in general. The principle of equitable access upheld by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions states: “Equitable access to a rich and diversified range of cultural expressions from all over the world and access of cultures to the means of expressions and dissemination constitute important elements for enhancing cultural diversity and encouraging mutual understanding.” (UNESCO, 2005: Article 2.7). Making this principle a reality involves diversifying and strengthening the fabric of feature film production centres, changing the structures governing the distribution of films at international scale, and implementing policies to encourage diversified film consumption."

"[T]here is little diversity in film consumption in Latin America, where movies produced in the United States account for at least 80% of total market share of attendance. National films in the global Top 10 are almost nonexistent in this region, with the exception of Brazil, where locally-produced films account for a 10% share of attendance. The same situation prevails in Australia and Canada, where more than 80% of the audience share views American films. Although for most countries the share of the audience viewing national films is quite low, there are notable exceptions. The Republic of Korea is the only country where the audience share of national movies accounts for the majority (54%). This could be explained by national policies that impose a quota on the distribution of national films."

"Examples of countries with diverse film markets include Morocco and Georgia. In Morocco, films from the United States represent approximately one-third of audience share. Interestingly, the audience share for foreign films (excluding American films) is 42%, which is significantly higher compared to any other country for which there is data. A similar pattern is seen in Georgia, where 50% of films viewed are foreign (non-American), followed by 27% of audience share for national movies and 24% for American movies. In some countries, the audience for national films approaches similar levels as for films produced in the United States. This is the case in France, where 41% of films viewed are national and 46% are from the United States. In the United Kingdom, the share of national movies is 36%, which is relatively high for Europe. This can be partially explained by several sequels, including the Harry Potter series, being in the national and global Top 10."

"The digitization of movie production and their exhibition in multiplexes has been one of the primary reasons that cinema has continued to attract audiences to theatres in many parts of the world. At the same time, the cinema sector has had to face the impacts of the financial crisis of 2008, which slowed down growth in many sectors of the economy."

"As has been the case throughout the 2000s, in almost all countries feature films from the United States of America (USA) (or USA coproductions in conjunction with primarily European countries) dominated the Top 30 (see Table 1) in 2010 and 2011. Almost all of these films were distributed by the six major Hollywood studios (with 50% of them released in 3D). Furthermore, the number of animated releases aimed at child-youth audiences was significant, in addition to sequels, prequels and adaptations. The rise and importance of 3D films evident between 2005 and 2011. However, many of the films that are ranked from No. 15 to No. 30 are typically nationally-produced or non-USA-produced films,mostly distributed by local companies."

"World film production continued to grow from 2005 to 2011,with a 39% increase. During this period, about 100 countries produced professional feature films for theatrical release, with an average of 5,987 feature films being produced per year, as shown in Table 3. The figures also show that there has been stagnation in the world film production since 2008, with total film production remaining at around 6,500 releases per year over the last four years for which data are available."

"When analysed at the country level, the increase in the world film production is highly dependent on the Top 10 producers which represent around 65% of world production,as shown in Table 4. The countries with the highest increases in production between 2005 and 2011 were: China (260to 584, 124.6%), the United Kingdom (106to 299, 182.1%) and the Republic of Korea (87to 206,148.3%). Other countries with significant increases were: Germany (45.2%), Spain (40.1%) and Italy (58.1%). Outside of the Top 10, several countries showed important increases although the level of production was smaller, including: Brazil (42 to 100 films, 136%), Iran (26 to 76 films, 192%), Turkey (28 to 70 films, 150%), Viet Nam (12 to 75films,525%in 2010), and Mexico (71 to 111 films, 56.3%). The level of production for the rest of the world grew at a smaller rate between 2008 and 2011."

"Nigeria has a very high number of audiovisual productions (see Map 1)–on average releasing 966 films per year between 2005 and 2011 –but they are semi-professional/informal productions, most of them almost artisanal with limited or no theatrical release. While 1,074 films were produced in 2010 in Nigeria, national movies sold only 117,563 tickets (26% of market share of that year), in a country with a population of about 160 million inhabitants."

"Countries which do not have the facilities and resources to produce films for theatrical release are using video format to reach their audiences. As shown in Table 6, Nigeria–with an average production of 1,000 movies per year –is the third largest producer in terms of volume. As a result of new technology and video production, the emergence of new film producers, such as Mauritius, has been possible. While the country did not produce any feature films before 2009, Mauritius increased its production from 19 to 30 films between 2010 and 2011."

"Analysing all films, regardless of their format of production (theatrical release or video production) provides an overview of the cinema sector worldwide. Table 7 shows that global film production has increased significantly in recent times, with total production rising from 5,735 movies in 2005 to 7,442 in 2008. Production continues to grow but at a slower pace since 2008."

"Wenn ein Autor sein Buch an ein anderes Medium abgibt, an den Film oder an die Bühne, muss er den anderen Künstlern Freiraum lassen. Sonst können deren Medien nicht anfangen zu atmen."

"Meine Filme brauchen den Vergleich mit keinem anderen Film zu scheuen. Ich finde sie viel besser! Man braucht die freiwillig gezollte Anerkennung als Künstler. Wenn ich den Film vor einem Publikum zeigen würde, würde ich 3.000 Dollar pro Ticket verlangen. Entweder umsonst oder gar nicht. Und die Leute sollen sich anstrengen. Wenn sie ihn wirklich sehen wollen, strengen sie sich auch an!"

"Man wünscht sich ja, in manchen Filmen des Lebens nicht dabei zu sein. Wenn man aber nun einmal drin ist, bleibt nur, klar das Zepter des Handelns in die Hand zu nehmen."

""Lachen ist die beste Herzmuskelmassage, die es gibt. Ich bin mir sicher, dass manche Filme von Chaplin, Keaton"

"In dreien seiner Filme habe ich gespielt: »Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius«, »Das Haus in Montevideo« und »Hokuspokus«. Zuerst hatte ich Hemmungen, die Rollen zu übernehmen, in denen ich den Meister selbst gesehen hatte, von dem eine solche Überlegenheit, ein derartiger Charme, aber auch eine so elegante Ironie ausging, daß es unmöglich schien, die Rollen anders zu gestalten, als er sie gespielt hatte."

""Ich wusste sehr früh, dass ich beim Film arbeiten will. Aber ich wusste auch, dass ich mein Leben beschützen muss, damit es mir nicht entrissen wird."

"Ich glaube aber nicht, dass ein einzelner Film eine Gewaltvorlage sein kann. Die Summe der Gewaltpornografie führt zu einer Herabsetzung der Hemmschwelle. Man gewöhnt sich an Gewalt. Darin liegt die Gefahr."

"Filme haben früh in mir das Gefühl geweckt, es muss im Leben mehr geben als das, was ich an der Straßenecke in Bramfeld sah. Im Kino wurden mir Helden vorgeführt, die ein freies, aufregendes Leben führten, die Realität sah anders aus: In den Fünfzigern war der Alltag in Deutschland grau, mühsam und muffelig."

"Es ist egal, ob ein Kind ein Buch liest, ein Audiobuch hört oder einen Film sieht. Wichtig ist nur, dass Kinder mit Geschichten groß werden."

"Ein perfekter Werbeblock verfehlt im Fernsehen seine Wirkung, wenn er alle paar Minuten von einem unverständlichen Spielfilmteil unterbrochen wird."

""Ein Buch oder auch ein Film sind behütete Orte. Es lässt sich alles durchleben"

"Du musst ja nicht leiden, um Leid im Film zu zeigen. Du kannst Dinge verstehen."

"Die Ehe war zum jrößten Teile // vabrühte Milch un Langeweile. // Un darum wird beim Happy-end // im Film jewöhnlich abjeblendt."

"Das Wichtigste ist die Erkenntnis, dass es unterschiedliche Arten gibt, Filme zu machen, und unterschiedliche Methoden, je nachdem, was für ein Typ man ist. Dass mir niemand auf die Idee kommt, mich zu imitieren!"

"Damals war es üblich, dass ein Film ausgebuht wurde, wenn er nicht gefällt und wir alle hatten wahnsinnige Angst davor. Und dann kam der Film am Lenbachplatz raus und die Leute fingen an zu lachen."