CANNES.- Nearly a hundred professionals from the Argentine cinema They demonstrated on Sunday at the Cannes Festivalamong them several directors who present films in the exhibition, against President Javier Milei’s cuts in culture.
“The government has undertaken a crusade against culture, science and education,” read María Alché, the director of “Puan” in one of the spaces of the Filmmakers’ Fortnight, a parallel section of the contest, where they displayed a giant flag Argentina with the motto “United Argentine Cinema”.
“Understanding that it is not only an economic issue, given the minimal importance of the public finance numbers of the proposed cuts, we can only think that these actions are an ideological attack,” he added.
Argentina’s film industry, one of the most prolific and recognized in the region, is facing a serious crisis due to the drastic cuts in state support implemented by the government of ultra-liberal Javier Milei.
This year, at the Cannes Festival, the most important in the world, the contingent of Argentine films is the most important in Latin America.
In total there are seven films, in different sections, among them “Simon of the Mountain”, by Federico Luis, “Something old, something new, something borrowed”, by Hernán Rosselli, and “On Sundays more people die”, by Iair Said .
These three directors were present at the demonstration.
“The current government seems to rejoice in dismantling cultural industries, depriving Argentina of its identity and attacking a vital source of employment for tens of thousands of families, with the same viciousness with which it defunds public universities and research in science and technology. , paralyzing the development and future of our country,” the film professionals continued.
For these professionals, the productions premiered in Cannes will circulate internationally and will be sold to various markets, becoming a source of income for the country.
They defend that this presence is only possible thanks to the support of cinematographic policies that for years actively promoted the audiovisual industry.
“It is very likely that the film festivals of the coming years will have very little or no Argentine representation,” they concluded.
Source: AFP
