Lefteris Kretsos in “A” / Our democracy deserves much better

Noble, direct, catapult. “The government of N.D. will close both institutions without remorse, putting the artistic space and the media industry hostage and in a big adventure” says rightly – bluntly Lefteris KRETSOS adding his findings on what the government is seeking with the draft law for the merger of the Hellenic Film Center and EKOME. Completely deconstructing the blue narrative for supporting cinema and audiovisuals, he points out that “if the government wants to build a new body, it must work methodically on it by keeping the Cinema Center and EKOME in operation”. The lecturer at Brunel University and director of Ph.D. Studies Ahlia University in Bahrain does not speak in a vacuum. In his tenure as Deputy Minister of Digital Policy in the SYRIZA government, he offered useful tools for the development of the audiovisual sector in the country, such that could add development capital and labor benefits. However, the Mitsotakis government, from its first term, began to develop a comprehensive plan and an implemented policy with practical results. The gratuitous shot is about to be given with the draft law in question, which provokes strong reactions from the film community and the audio-visual industries. Discussing the controversial bill, the former Deputy Minister of Digital Policy helps us understand the government’s ambitions and their negative dimensions. However, it is not limited to this. It explains in every detail how and why the support of the audio-visual sector can contribute, especially today, to the country’s industrial and development landscape, and even to foreign policy. An active citizen and political being, Lefteris Kretsos, in addition to his academic duties and in-depth knowledge of audio-visual issues, always keeps his antennae open to the political and social disputes of our days. Observing what is happening in the country today, he finds that “our democracy deserves much better”.

The government proclaims that the draft law under consultation for the merger of EKOME with the Hellenic Film Center seeks to create and support a coherent national policy in the fields of audiovisual and film policy. However, the film community and audio-visual industries are in turmoil. Are they exaggerating?

Not only are they not exaggerating, but I think there should be more dynamic intervention. And this is because with the new bill the government makes Greece a country without public policies to support audiovisual production and creation. Many jobs and many investment opportunities will be lost. We are returning to the era where international industry will turn its back on Greece and where domestic fiction and film production will be accompanied by cutbacks, investment apnea and low wages and salaries. This is yet another cover-up of yet another political crime and yet another show of arrogance with the worn-out 41% swagger to the people of Culture. The view that the main bodies of audio-visual and film policy are put in the fridge for just a few months I’m afraid does not correspond to reality . The government has probably exhausted the resources of the Public Investment Program or earmarked them for pass benefits for vote-seeking and communication reasons just before the election or when the anger will overflow. In any case, the absence of public policies to support the audio-visual industry will cause great damage to the country’s reputation as a friendly destination for the establishment of such investments. We created incentives and the Mitsotakis government is creating counter-incentives.

So do you disagree with the existence of the new body? What are your first conclusions from this bill?

The merger of the Cinema Center with the National Center for Audiovisual Media I agree with in principle. However, this is not an attempt for the country to obtain a single representation and formulation of a national audiovisual policy. This is the attempt of a government that instrumentalized EKOME and its success to serve friends and acquaintances and to hide its responsibilities for the huge delays in payments, the deterioration of industrial relations in the sector and the serious indications of opacity in the way the incentives to enhance audiovisual creation. They use the need to have a national audio-visual policy as a pool of Siloam to wash away their sins for their mistakes, omissions and imprudences. They found everything ready, but when communication takes precedence over substance, you can’t wait for the sequel.

In other words, what should they do to stop the arrhythmia and the problems of EKOME that have become more and more intense in the last two years?

You cannot solve one problem by creating another or more. The government must send today the message inside and outside Greece that the country practically supports Culture and audiovisual creation by closing outstanding economic and administrative issues. The argument that there is a limitation of 50 million per year does not apply. EKOME and the cash rebate should never be closed for even half a day. It will be a national failure. It will be a loss for the country and the people in the field will understand better what I am saying when they visit the corresponding festival in Cannes in May. If the government wants to build a new agency, it must work methodically on it by keeping the Film Center and EKOME in operation. For us, it took about two years for EKOME to be able to spread its wings with a solid institutional framework, operating and procurement regulations, the necessary Official Gazette and, of course, sufficient resources. Now the government of N.D. will shut down both bodies without remorse, putting the artistic space and the media industry hostage and in a big adventure, which will have to wait at least for the signing of seven Joint Ministerial Decisions and many administrative acts, as well as other actions, for example the appropriate staffing. And all this to return to 2017, with our prestige as a country wounded? And this will of course be done under the condition that money will be found to support the sector from a government that is driving the economy and especially the Public Investment Program into the rocks.

Why does the audiovisual sector need support, especially in a time like today?

I think, your question is very important. And this is because in a country where the public Health and Education systems are collapsing and where the neglect of infrastructure leads to tragedies like the one in Tempe, it is perfectly reasonable for the average citizen to wonder why we should give money to channels and producers for television series and movies. Of course, this is far from the truth. Television, cinema, video games are not only products of complex mental and physical effort and are not only about entertainment. These are very important industries, which define Greece’s position in the world. Industries with serious economic and geopolitical implications, industries that affect tourism and investment and our very future. The most developed countries and cities on the planet are those with strong creative and cultural industries. The most skilled and talented people and the most influential people immigrate to these countries and cities. It is where millions of tourists travel and where the biggest investments are made and the most sustainable innovation ecosystems operate. It is no coincidence that almost all countries had invested in the audiovisual industry many years before 2017 and the institution of the cash rebate in Greece. Supporting the cinema is not a subsidy, as the new bill states, but an investment for the future of the country and local development. For us it is even more necessary for the rescue of the Greek language and because Greece, in addition to being a popular tourist destination, is the country that gave birth to fiction and theater. And, finally, let’s not forget that the creative industry is a powerful soft power tool for exercising our foreign policy.

In what directions should a legislative framework move, in your opinion, to ensure benefits for development and for workers and for filmmaking, but also for the utilization of the country’s great monuments and archaeological sites?

There were many guarantees of transparency, but also of flexibility in the institutional framework left by the SYRIZA-PS government, which left no suspicions of virtual invoices and triangular transactions. It’s not about nuclear physics, it’s simple, as long as there is political will, of course.

With the cash rebate, you had created a tool to strengthen audiovisual production in the country, the philosophy of which is now being deconstructed or at least not clarified. First of all, do you want us to recall the benefits you have foreseen for the audio-visual sector?

The results of EKOME and the cash rebate exceeded the expectations of most. I supported and strongly believed from the beginning that this sector can become a steam engine of economic development and cultural creation. We must acknowledge the efforts of the Greek creators and all the people in the field, who brought great international distinctions and successfully responded to the demands of even the most complex producers. Greece in 2020 was first in investment in the audiovisual sector in Europe and this is a huge feat for a country that had no investment incentive in operation until 2017. Let’s note this: first in Europe. In how many other areas can we boast of firsts?

Do you still consider that ensuring the provision of incentives is crucial both for the country’s development dynamics and for securing Greek jobs?

Absolutely yes, and in fact I consider the brave support of the State for this purpose even more imperative. Greece has the touristic infrastructure, the geographical location, the diversity of the landscape, the people to become a major regional power in the field of media. But we need a plan, investment in skills, simple rules and stability in funding. The new bill takes us back to 2017, to nothing, and it will take a lot of work now to get back on our feet. Don’t forget that this is an internationally competitive industry and other governments continue to support it with even more measures to facilitate audiovisual production.

The case of Tempe, the leakage of personal data of voters abroad, issues of the Rule of Law, the wiretapping, largely make up the political scene of the period. What do you think about the quality of our Democracy?

It doesn’t matter what I think, but what the average citizen thinks. The time when the crumbs were shared with the various passes is over for the government and the world clearly sees that the ship is headed for the rocks. The “household” they promised was only for a few “households”, the rest as unwanted musafiras were thrown out badly. Even this middle class, which the current government pampered so much to reach its rates, which it constantly reminds us of but will never see again, sees its children in danger on the street, its emails reaching the hands of astute people, its hospitals and schools to be dismantled, amid a backdrop of cultural and economic decline as well as democratic degradation. Wiretapping didn’t play the role it deserved in the last election, I don’t know if it’s because the citizen felt they didn’t concern him or because, even worse, he cynically thinks “that’s the way things are”. But what followed concerns each of us and all together. Our democracy deserves much better.