Bring in laws to effectively tackle piracy, says filmmakers

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 8: Filmmakers and those associated with the industry have made a fervent plea to bring in laws which can effectively tackle piracy and plagiarism and wanted Kerala to take the lead.

Film industry insiders from India, Europe and Latin America brought a wealth of experience and perspective to a discussion session on "Piracy and original creation" held as part of the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala - 2015 here.

Celebrated filmmakers Jabbar Patel and Shaji N Karun headed the panel that debated the twin issues from the point of view of the artist, industry and the audience for pirated works, and concluded that a firm stand must be taken in the fight against piracy.

"Very few industry people take this issue seriously", said Jabbar Patel, who recounted an episode where he was accused of plagiarism when another party distributed copies of his production of Vijay Tendulkar’s play Ghashiram Kotwal.

"We are not just talking about piracy of images. It's life piracy." "Today when people tell me, 'We don't get to see your movies anywhere’. I tell them Go on YouTube and you can watch it in HD", Patel said in a lighter vein.

Concurring that the shift in movie piracy from DVDs and VCDs to online uploads, Lohitha Sujith, a representative of the Motion Picture association, said "Piracy threatens both local industry and careers in film.

These need to be protected. Copyright must not be a right to copy." Argentinean producer Pablo Chernov said "the problem is very complex since no one can control the internet. So it's a war that is already lost before it has started."

There is a model to be followed in Europe, said Golda Sellam, a French producer and programmer. "In Europe and France, we have a very proud legacy of strict adherence to author rights," Sellam said.

"There is a strong lobby in France to defend the rights of each chain in the production process and a strong watchdog, Hadopi, that protect all the layers if the industry," she added.

PTI