Source: Cancilleria Argentina / CC 2.0 DEED
The official resolution was published March 12 and revealed the full extent and timings of the funding suspension, including to festivals, overtime payments, mobile phone contracts, financing for national film releases, and more.
Argentinian director and writer Benjamin Naishtat appeared on Radio con vos, an Argentinian radio station, to decry the decision. “There is a cruelty towards cinema,” he said. “It is a sector that is not aligned with the political proposal which has made culture and cinema in particular a scapegoat, an enemy.” They have our full solidarity in this awful moment they are going through. They have our full solidarity in this awful moment they are going through.”
Producer Vanessa Ragone also posted on X: “A very sad path begins for Argentinian cinema” adding that the measures are a “‘cultural battle’ that is now aimed at destroying audiovisual activity.”
Cine Argentino Unido, the coalition group representing Argentinian film organisations, ids planning a large-scale protest against the cuts on March 14 in front of Buenos Aires’ iconic Gaumont Cinema.
In statements across social media, the Cine Argentino Unido wrote: “We demand that the new INCAA authorities work together with the film community to find solutions that protect and strengthen an industry that generates work, while preserving an invaluable cultural heritage.
“It is the responsibility of the national government to ensure the integrity of the Argentinian people as a whole, preserving and not attacking the cultural sovereignty of the country.”
The suspension of state funding to INCAA follows a raft of layoffs revealed last week and the ending of INCAA’s financial support for film schools and festivals across the country.
Proposed cuts to Argentina’s audiovisual industry have been in various stages since January when the newly-elected-president Javier Milei first proposed defunding INCAA and scrapping the country’s film schools. Milei seemed to backpedal on the plans in the wake of protests from Cine Argentino Unido and industry stalwarts such as Justine Triet, Pedro Almodovar, and Aki Kaurismaki among others.
However, during the Berlin Film Festival, calls for support from Cine Argentino Unido were made in the face of the renewed-proposal for cuts, which have now come to pass.
Berlinale board issues official response to controversial closing night comments
