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Three questions for... Bernhard F. Störkmann and Dr Till Völger

We put three questions in relation to the exceptional year 2020 and the plans for the coming year to Bernhard F. Störkmann, Shareholder representative for the BFFS and Dr Till Völger, GVL Delegate for dubbing actors and member of the BFFS Board.

What is your conclusion for the creative sector in 2020?

This year, one topic that has been and still is omnipresent: Corona. This pandemic has hit the creative and culture sector particularly hard. The closure of theatres, cinemas and cultural venues led to the dissolution of their professional existence for many cultural creators. The aid programmes of the Federal Government and the Länder which is unfortunately inadequate is going to inflict serious damage to the German cultural industries in the long run. This particularly applies to the creation of niche repertoire and arthouse productions, small private theatres and other initiatives and institutions which have ensured the cultural diversity so far.

The developments this year show with an alarming clarity that there are major gaps in the legal system of the cultural sector. Gaps which allow many cultural creators to fall through the cracks and into a bottomless abyss. If the demands of the creative associations for specific adaptations had been met, some  of the mechanisms could have certainly taken effect in this crisis. 

The end of the crisis cannot be predicted with certainty – but after this second “lockdown” it is likely that there will be a third. It is possible there will be even more than that along the line. In this respect, it is still necessary that we initiate aid measures, bring the social security of the cultural workers in the focus of the legislators and to secure the livelihoods of the creators.

In 10 years’ time, what are actors going to say when they talk about 2020?

Especially for actors, 2020 has been a year of existential struggles. A year of depression, hopelessness, desperation and the wait to be allowed to "finally work again".

Since March 2020, artistic creation has hardly been possible anymore. In times of worrying developments in political and social debates, growing populism, when cultural and artistic creation would have wanted to, could have and would have had to fulfil an important task.

Against this background, it is hard to tell today what a possible review of 2020 will look like.  This also depends on how the situation continues to develop and whether effective support measures will be established for creators and cultural workers in the foreseeable future. In any case, when looking back on 2020, it will be seen as a deep cut and major turning point for cultural live and cultural diversity. Whether it is deemed as a watershed moment which entailed change or whether the “beginning of the end” took place in 2020, is something the future shall have to show. We will, in any case, do anything that the latter will not be the case. 

Which topics at GVL are particularly important to the BFFS as a GVL shareholder in the coming year?

A lot has already been done but there still is a very long way ahead of us. Furthermore, the most pressing task is that GVL structures the remuneration for rights holders in such a way that a smooth and frictionless process is guaranteed. We still face technical and legal hurdles here which we have to surmount. As a shareholder of GVL, the BFFS is going to continue to work on holding the legislator accountable to create the necessary framework conditions. In the film sector, for example, it is essential that an effective data processing is ensured by way of unique identifiers - such as the so-called ISANs. 

We hope that in 2021 the actors will again perceive GVL as their collective management organisation into whose work they trust and where they feel their rights management is in good hands. It is therefore also an essential cornerstone that GVL provides information on its important work in an attractive manner so that the messages are understood when they reach the actors.

After all this, however, we are also very confident that these tasks can be mastered. We know from various meetings, personal conversations and new initiatives that the GVL staff members are in this with a lot of energy and passion. We already owe thanks for these efforts, even if there still is quite a way for us to cover yet.