FICC speaks out on Mexican film society issue

The international federation of film societies is concerned about the independence of the Mexican film society movement

Public Clarification
The Secretary of Culture of Mexico City (SCGDF) and the association Circo 2.12 A.C. will hold an "Iberoamerican forum of communitarian film societies" during the first week of June 2010. It is extremely important to explain the nature of such event for the sake of the Mexican film societies' movement.

Background
• In October 2009 on behalf of the association Jinetes Sampleadores de Imágenes A.C., Gabriel Rodriguez presented to the SCGDF, a proposal to promote the V Iberoamerican Film Society Meeting as part of the celebration of Mexico City as the Iberoamerican Capital of Culture in 2010. Such meetings have been organized since 2004 together with the Latin American Group of the International Federation of Film Societies. He received no response.
• In December 2009 he reformulated his proposal to perform the VI Iberoamerican Film Society Meeting, since the V would be held in January 2010 in Brazil. On December 11th 2009, he received an e-mail from an employee of the SCGDF confirming the receipt of the proposal. Since then there has been no official communication regarding such issue.
• In January 2010, the cultural publication Chilanguía (attached below) billboarded the events to be supported in the celebration of Iberoamerican Capital of Culture. In the section related to cinema appeared the V Iberoamerican Film Society Meeting.
• On April 23rd, the newspaper La Jornada published an article on "Distrital", a one week film festival in Mexico City which included an “Iberoamerican forum of
communitarian film societies” organized by the SCGDF and Circo 2.12 A.C.

Claiming for the autonomy of film societies
We hereby criticize the institution and the people who pretentiously stripped the project of the Iberoamerican Film Society Meeting, leading to the so-called "Iberoamerican forum of communitarian film societies". According to the program presented in their press conference, its important to highlight that in 10 round tables, only one of the participants is an active film society member. The communitarian film societies are called to speak up only on the last day, not in a round table, but in a presentation of the SCGDF.
If most of the guests are employees of the SCGDF, producers, filmmakers, writers, people in the world of distribution and some prominent film academics, why call the event Iberoamerican forum of communitarian film societies and not Iberoamerican film forum?
This document is not against events which promote discussion on any kind of cultural manifestation, but precisely claims the autonomy of the film societies' movement which has been resumed in Mexico City during the last years.

We are the public.

signed

Paolo Minuto, president of the Internacional Federation of Film Societies
Antonio Claudino de Jesus, vice-president of the Internacional Federation of Film Societies
Cristina Marchese, Secretary of the Latin America Group
Julio Lamaña, IFFS communication area